IN the next 10 years Fife Council are hoping to see the launch of a cross-Forth ferry service, a park and choose in Rosyth and new railway station at Halbeath.

They're also backing moves for express buses from Dunfermline to Stirling, the re-opening of the West Fife rail link to Alloa and continuing with £37 million of transport improvements as part of the housing expansion in and around the city.

Councillors were told on Tuesday of the 100 proposed actions in the draft local transport strategy 2023-33, with a final version due in the summer, which sets out the council's vision and priorities for transport over the next decade.

It includes a Rosyth bypass, backs the return of the ferry service to Europe, calls for lower public transport fares, supports the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles, pledges to improve security at transport hubs and start the roll out of more traffic-free streets outside schools.

In a report to the environment, transportation and climate change scrutiny committee, Councillor Altany Craik said: "This strategy sets out how we will tackle some big challenges.

"The transport system must support Fifers to get to work, education and health appointments despite rising costs of living.

"And we must transition to net zero emissions and protect our network to tackle the climate emergency.

"By delivering our ambitious objectives and actions, we will show the value of investing in Fife and empowering our community.

"We want to reduce the need for you to travel and make it easier to walk, cycle, wheel and take the bus and train."

The strategy will replace the Local Transport Strategy for Fife 2006-2026, which delivered the £10m Halbeath Park and Ride, and some of the projects on the wish list are not new.

A cross-Forth ferry has long been an ambition and Stagecoach conducted a trial with hovercraft in 2007 between Kirkcaldy and Portobello.

Nothing came of it but there's fresh impetus from the other side of the river, with the City of Edinburgh Council now interested, and the latest suggestion is a passenger service from Kirkcaldy or Burntisland to Leith, with the possibility of links from Levenmouth and the East Neuk, could be viable and take more traffic off the roads.

Another reheated idea is a park and choose at Rosyth.

The council received planning permission for a site next to the town's railway station in 2013 and said the transport interchange would give travellers the option of train or bus, but finance – the estimated cost was £6.4m at the time – proved the main stumbling block.

Similarly, the local authority has been making the case for a rail halt at Halbeath for a decade, again to get more people out of cars and onto public transport, but it was shunted into the sidings with the Scottish Government not keen to meet the estimated £7m cost.

Still on the tracks, and following the project to re-open the Levenmouth railway, the council are backing a similar project that would once more link Dunfermline and Alloa by rail and allow passengers to go onto Stirling and Glasgow.

They also want to see an "improved rail corridor" between Dunfermline and Perth and will "support new rail links and stations" in Fife.

Already underway is the £37m of transport improvements to support the housing expansion in and around Dunfermline, with around 8,000 houses to be built over the next 20 years.

That will include the Northern Link Road and Western Distributor Road, both multi-million pound bypasses to take traffic away from the city centre and serve the new housing estates.

One that's still on the drawing board is a Rosyth bypass, with the council keen to see a link from the A823 (M) to the A985 west of Dunfermline.

They also want to bring in the pavement parking ban, deliver an "anti-engine idling campaign", review parking in Fife, push for the Fife Circle to be electrified and connect Rosyth port to the rail network, and improve passenger safety at transport hubs with more staff, CCTV and alarms.