Stagecoach East Scotland have today (Monday 25th November) begun serving Forth Valley Royal Hospital on their Fife to Glasgow coach network.

The new transport link – which operates daily – will provide travel options for customers in West Fife and Kincardine, Cumbernauld and Glasgow with a direct coach to the hospital.

As part of the Express City Connect network, certain journeys on routes X24, X26 and X27, which currently operate from various points across Fife to Glasgow, are now diverting to serve Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

These routes collectively provide a journey from West Fife and Kincardine to Glasgow every 20 minutes during the main part of the day Mondays to Saturdays (every 30 mins on Sundays) with a journey approximately every hour diverting to the hospital.  This means connections can be made to reach the hospital at interchange points such as Kincardine and Cumbernauld.  It also offers connections to Glasgow and Fife for residents in the local Falkirk and Larbert areas by using local bus services to reach Forth Valley Royal Hospital then changing to the Express City Connect routes for onward travel.

The route changes coincide with a number of other developments for the Stagecoach coach network.  A fleet of 8 brand new luxury coaches, costing £2.3 million, have been launched on the X27 route today.  The coaches already operating on routes X24 and X26 were introduced to the fleet just last year.

The coaches feature reclining leather seats, air conditioning, at seat power points and free wi-fi. Stagecoach East Scotland Managing Director Andrew Jarvis said:

 Our Express City Connect network offers luxury travel across Fife and into Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee and are limited stop so that journeys are as direct as possible.The new links we’re providing for our customers in Fife and the West as well as Forth Valley residents, are a great opportunity to leave the car behind, relax and enjoy your journey, making use of the free wi-fi on our comfortable coaches.

“We’ve also introduced a new range of tickets for people in this area.  The Glasgow megarider+ ticket offers 7 days’ unlimited travel between Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Forth Valley Royal Hospital and Kincardine for just £22. We also offer longer period tickets, weekly tickets for Under 16’s, and adult, child and group day tickets within the same boundary.  Our existing Fife megarider+ ticket, which provides unlimited travel throughout Fife and as far as Edinburgh, Kincardine and Falkirk, has also been extended to cover travel to Forth Valley Royal Hospital.”

Full timetable information on the X24, X26 and X27 routes is available to pick up at Forth Valley Royal Hospital and can also be downloaded from www.stagecoachbus.com/eastscotland more details of ticket options can also be found on this site.

Mark Craske, NHS Forth Valley’s Travel Manager, said:

 We are pleased that Stagecoach East Scotland has taken the decision to include Forth Valley Royal Hospital on a number of these key bus routes as this will further improve public transport links to the hospital.”