The Scottish Government was warned nearly a decade ago the country’s rail network could not pick up the slack if the Forth Road Bridge was to close, The Courier can reveal.
Network Rail made the revelation at a meeting hosted and chaired by the Forth Estuary Transport Authority over the winter of 2006/7.
Also present were officials from Transport Scotland, which deals with transport for Holyrood ministers, ScotRail, Perth and Kinross Council, Fife Council, Edinburgh Council and West Lothian Council.
The long-term viability of the Forth Road Bridge was discussed after the discovery of structural issues in 2005. It would be another two years before the decision to build a replacement was taken.
A variety of scenarios was discussed to help prolong the life of the bridge, including the possibility of closing the bridge for a significant period of time to allow for repairs.
Network Rail told Transport Scotland it could not cope with such additional demand because of infrastructure issues a number of which have subsequently been addressed limitations to the destinations trains can reach and car parking facilities.
Ex-Dunfermline and West Fife Labour MP Thomas Docherty was one of those in the room as part of his former work for Network Rail.
He said: “Even with improvements to capacity on the line, there is a fundamental lack of parking around the stations and there is the fact that a relatively small number of people who use the road bridge are going to where the railways go.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “The response to incidents on the transport network such as the recent closure of the Forth Road Bridge covers all transport modes. We appreciate that not one form of transport can replace another and take the strain.
“Since 2010 Transport Scotland and a range of partners and responders have comprehensive arrangements to implement all necessary incident response operations. Well established practices are activated in response to significant incidents, such as the Multi Agency Response Team to oversee operational responses and share information.”
Network Rail did not respond to a request for comment.