Forth Bridge gets £15m visitor area and glass lift DESIGNS to enable visitors to ascend to the top of the Forth Bridge were unveiled today by Network Rail, which pledged there would be be at least partial public access to Scotland's biggest grade A listed structure by its 125th birthday in two years" time. It said a feasibility study had produced two options - a visitor centre and lifts to a viewing platform at the top of the 360ft rail crossing in North Queensferry, and a smaller "pod-style" building at the South Queensferry end for guided walks on walkways below the track and up to the top of the structure. Details of the scheme come 18 months after Scotland on Sunday revealed that Network Rail was considering plans to enable people to reach the top of the bridge. The move followed the completion of large-scale anti-rust painting of the bridge for the first time in its history, with the scaffolding and safety covers which have shrouded the structure for a decade to help hundreds of workers finish the task being removed. The viewing area would provide an unparalleled panorama as far west as Ben Lomond, east to Edinburgh and North Berwick and north to Fife David Simpson, route managing director, Network Rail Scotland, stressed that the plans would not impinge on the look of the bridge, which is to be considered for World Heritage Site status. Glory He said: "After ten years spent restoring the bridge to its full glory, and in advance of the application for World Heritage listing, these plans will offer the public the chance to visit the bridge and see it "close-up" for the first time. We are hugely excited by these proposals and believe they have the potential to be developed into an important new visitor attraction for Scotland. While these plans are still at development stage, we believe 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. 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. Any profits from the two facilities would be reinvested into the upkeep of the bridge Network Rail said the North Queensferry proposals "would see a discreet building created under the northern Fife Tower, offering education and exhibition facilities alongside catering and shopping. Ambitious The centre would be connected by a step-free ramp to two lifts on the eastern side of the bridge. The lifts would offer access to a viewing platform at the top of the bridge, 110m above sea level. On the south side, a pod-style building is proposed to co-ordinate guided walks on the structure for groups of up to 15 people. The building would be developed on Network Rail-owned land underneath the southern approach span, just a short walk from Dalmeny station. The walk would see access permitted along the south approach span on a pre-existing walkway underneath the track, followed by a climb to the top of the southern Queensferry Tower using a walkway within the top cantilever. Mr Simpson said visitors would be encouraged to travel to the attractions by rail, with ticket offers planned with train operators. Transport minister Keith Brown said: "I welcome Network Rail's exciting and ambitious plans to combine an historic and vital part of Scotland's transport network with a breath-taking attraction for visitors to enjoy." He said the move was the first stage towards collectively making the Forth Bridge, Forth Road Bridge and under-construction Queensferry Crossing "a unique attraction for visitors" - which was being pursued by the Scottish Government-led Forth Bridges Forum co-ordinating body. Charities will continue to be able to stage fundraising abseils on the bridge. Nigel Harris, managing editor of RAIL magazine, proposed the viewing platform idea to Network Rail after being taken on a tour of the bridge in 2011, but there have been plans for public lifts up the structure since at least the 1980s. Further information is available at: www.forthbridgeexperience.com