ScotRail to use 130 extra carriages for Edinburgh’s 80,000 sports fans

By ALASTAIR DALTON
Published on 15/11/2012 17:44

A MASS influx of fans for one of Edinburgh’s busiest-ever sporting days on Saturday involving Scotland rugby and Hearts football has prompted ScotRail to press into service “every available carriage” to cope with passenger demand.

• The extra carriages provide up to 9000 extra seats for fans going to Murrayfield for Scotland v South Africa and Tynecastle for Hearts v St Mirren

•Fans have been urged to delay their journeys home to try and limit huge queues and chaos at stations

Scotland’s main train operator said it would use nearly 130 extra train coaches for the Scotland v South Africa clash at Murrayfield and the Hearts v St Mirren match at Tynecastle, which are expected to attract a total of more than 80,000 spectators.

The extra carriages - providing up to an additional 9,000 seats - will be added to nearly 100 trains heading to or from Haymarket station in the capital.

ScotRail warned passengers that queues at the station were inevitable, particularly immediately after the games, and it urged fans to delay their journeys home.

A spokesman said: “Those travelling can play their part. They can buy tickets in advance. They can stagger journeys because arrivals in large groups will inevitably mean queuing and the prospect of having to stand rather than sitting.”