Oakbank Primary School - Transport

Transport

Perth remains a key transport hub for journeys by road and rail throughout Scotland. The M90 motorway runs south from the city to Edinburgh; the A9 road connects it to Stirling and Glasgow in the south west and Inverness in the north. Other major roads serving the city include the A85 to Crieff and Crianlarich (and ultimately Oban), the A93 to Blairgowrie and Braemar, the A94 to Coupar Angus and Forfar and the A90 to Dundee and Aberdeen.

The city itself was bypassed to the south and east by the M90 in the 1970s and to the west by the A9 in the 1980s. The M90, A9 and A93 all meet at Broxden Junction, one of the busiest and most important road junctions in Scotland. Uniquely, all of Scotland's other six cities are signposted from here: Glasgow and Stirling via the A9 southbound, Dundee and Aberdeen via the A90, Edinburgh via the M90, and Inverness via the A9 northbound. The final part of the M90 included the construction of the Friarton Bridge in 1978 to facilitate travel to Dundee and Aberdeen to the east of the city, finally removing inter-city traffic from the centre. The bridge is the most northerly piece of the motorway network in the United Kingdom.

There are four bridges that cross the River Tay in Perth. The northernmost structure is Smeaton's Bridge (also known as Perth Bridge and, locally, the Old Bridge), completed in 1771 and widened in 1869, which carries the automotive and pedestrian traffic of West Bridge Street (the A85). Eastbound vehicles are not permitted to make a right turn onto Bridgend's Gowrie Street.

Next, some five hundred yards downstream, is Queen's Bridge, which also carries vehicle and pedestrian traffic, this time of South Street and Tay Street. Queen's Bridge was completed in 1960, replacing the old Victoria Bridge (1902–1960), and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in October of that year.

The third bridge in the centre of Perth is a railway bridge, carrying trains to and from the railway station, half a mile to the north-west. It was completed in 1863. There is also a pedestrian walkway on its northern side (from where this image was taken).

Finally, the southernmost crossing of the Tay inside Perth's boundary is the aforementioned Friarton Bridge.

The construction of a fifth bridge farther upstream (north) from the existing bridges is being considered.

Perth railway station has regular services to Fife, Edinburgh Waverley via the Forth Bridge, east to Dundee and Aberdeen, and south to Glasgow Queen Street. There are two direct trains per day to London, one operated by East Coast (train operating company) to King's Cross (from Inverness), while the Caledonian Sleeper runs overnight to Euston.

Local buses are run by Stagecoach Group; and Perth is also the home of the bus group. Inter-city bus travel is made from Leonard Street bus station and connects to most major destinations in Scotland. The budget Megabus service is centred on Broxden Junction (2.2 miles/3.5 km outside the city centre) and runs direct buses to Scotland's largest cities plus Manchester and London. In addition, there is a park and ride service from the services at Broxden to the city centre.

Perth has a small airport. Perth Airport is located at New Scone, 7 km north east of Perth. There are no commercial flights out of this airport, but it is used by private aircraft and for pilot training. The nearest major commercial airport is Edinburgh Airport or Aberdeen Airport, although Dundee Airport, which is 20 minutes drive from Perth, offers flights to London City Airport, Belfast, and Birmingham as well as charter, engineering and training facilities.