Viewing Platform Planned For The Forth Bridge

It remains one of the most iconic sights in Scotland, and has spawned many a joke about the amount of time needed to paint it. Now the general public are likely to have a chance to get “up close and personal” with the Forth Bridge, as plans are afoot to build a viewing platform at the top.

One of Scotland's Most Iconic Sights

With proposals that would lead to the platform being available by 2015, rail chiefs have released early stage plans for a visitor centre linked by a lift to a viewing platform 330ft (100m) above the sea level on the Fife side. There could also be guided walks to the top of the tower on the Edinburgh side.

Built between 1883 and 1890, the rail bridge, which runs across the Forth estuary between South Queensferry and North Queensferry is one and a half miles long. It reaches a height of some 330 feet (100 metres) at the top of its three towers, while the track is about 150ft (45m) above the water level.

The North Queensferry proposals would allow for a visitor centre building underneath the northern Fife Tower. Network Rail, who are behind the proposals, said this was because the north of the bridge was the only place the structure could be reached by land.

With  a "glazed ceiling, the centre would allow visitors to experience the cathedral-like scale of this awe-inspiring structure".

There would be education and exhibition facilities as well as catering and shopping proposals. The visitor centre would be connected by a step-free ramp to two lifts on the eastern side of the bridge. To get to the viewing platform at the top, access would be via a lift.

On the Edinburgh side, Network Rail plans to offer a "more challenging" visitor experience where pre-booked parties using safety equipment would walk along a path under the track and then climb up the south tower.

David Simpson, of Network Rail Scotland, said they had spent 10 years restoring the bridge to its full glory in advance of an application for world heritage site listing. He said he was "excited" by the plans to offer the public the chance to visit the bridge and see it "close-up" for the first time.

Mr Simpson said: "While these plans are still at development stage, we believe that the options we have revealed today can be delivered without impacting the well-loved view of the bridge.  Any infrastructure on the bridge will be less visible than the existing scaffold platform and all buildings designs will be of premium quality."

He added: "It's an ambitious target, but we'd love to see these plans at least partially realised by 2015 to coincide with the bridge's 125th anniversary."

Mr Simpson said any profits from the planned facilities would be reinvested into the upkeep of the bridge, which remains a key part of Scotland's railway infrastructure and carries more than 200 trains per day.

Network Rail said that there would now be a period to begin the process of developing designs in consultation with the relevant authorities and local communities.