Yet more festive rail strikes will disrupt Kingsferry Bridge operations on 24-27 December and 3-8 January. Network Rail have a contingency plan to cover some of the disruption:
19:00 Sat 24 December to 07:00 Tues 27 December 2022 No bridge lifts
Tuesday 3 January 2023
00:00 – 19:00 Bridge lifts available
19:00 – 23:59 No bridge lifts
Wednesday 4 January
00:00– 07:00 No bridge lifts
07:00 – 19:00 Bridge lifts available
19:00 – 23:59 No bridge lifts
Thursday 5 January
Midnight – 07:00 No bridge lifts
07:00 – 23:59 Bridge lifts available
Friday 6 January
00:00 – 19:00 Bridge lifts available
19:00 – 23:59 No bridge lifts
Saturday 7 January
00:00 – 07:00 No bridge lifts
07:00 – 19:00 Bridge lifts available
19:00 – 23:59 No bridge lifts
Sunday 8 January
00:00 – 07:00 No bridge lifts
07:00 – 23:59 Bridge lifts available
Priority will be given to commercial shipping but leisure craft will also be able to transit the bridge. Please give as much notice as possible (call VHF channel 10) to avoid delays. If talks are successful and industrial action is avoided a cancellation notice will be issued.
Well kingsferry have come through there 6 times in 40 years, used to be a pleasure 30 years ago, but in last 10 years not so good, one time nobody answered the vhf so we tried on aproching the bridge again no reply, so we tried the landline it was early the reply we did get was from the bridge Kepper but he was in bed and very politely said I will ring the bridge, apologizes from the bridge I was having my tea break, which is understandable, they are not at our beck and call, and a compromise has to be sought between trains and boats which it appears in the trains favour, some say have a bus service, but I think railways are important if the railways kept all those discontinued lines, we would have not had to have cars when the bus service was abandoned, and I know the chicken and the egg, well long live the bridge and the railway and those that man it and repair it, as once its gone its gone and can’t be replaced, myself I always sail around the outside much more a pleasant sail twice as long but sailing boats should never be in a hurry, that’s the point of sailing, as for motor boats take the shortcut fuel is expensive sails are free,