Driver shortages due to illness were blamed for the cancellations, but a union – the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) – condemned the train operator’s “incompetence”.

ScotRail apologised for the cancellations.

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes warned passengers of more disruption due to the union’s dispute with the company. The warnings come a week after some of the worst disruption in and around Edinburgh on the railways.

ScotRail has apologised for the disruption last Saturday night

ScotRail Alliance is investigating the chaos last weekend amid calls for an inquiry into Dutch company Abellio’s running of the franchise.

Mr Cortes said: “These cancellations aren’t down to acts of God. It’s ScotRail’s ongoing incompetence which is to blame as they simply haven’t recruited enough train drivers.

“It’s also clear that our driver team managers’ (DTM) refusal to drive trains is hurting. Our union remains willing to meet ScotRail any time, any place, anywhere to resolve this dispute.

“Transport Secretary Matheson must call an urgent inquiry into the goings-on at ScotRail. Their incompetence has gone on for far too long and Scottish rail passengers deserve far better than this. Matheson should bite the bullet by bringing these services back into public ownership.’

ScotRail DTMs were supporting drivers today, but cancellations were due to drivers calling in sick.

It is understood ScotRail have 20 trainee drivers at the Edinburgh depot and plan to hire 55 drivers and 30 conductors in 2019. The train operator said the recruitment would see a higher number of drivers than in 2018.

ScotRail said: “We’re sorry to customers who have been affected by a small number of cancellations yesterday.”

However, after last weekend’s fiasco, ScotRail’s chief executive Alex Hynes said questions must be raised as to whether Edinburgh has the capacity to host large events at the same time, while Mr Matheson branded the disruption a “serious failure”.

The statements raise questions about ScotRail’s ability to meet the demand on the railways at peak times.

The overcrowding had led to serious crowd management and staffing issues, with any future disruption likely to test ScotRail’s ability to cope with high passenger numbers during significant disruption.

Mr Matheson called the incident “unacceptable” and said he would be in talks with senior management at ScotRail. Opposition politicians piled on the pressure for ScotRail and Mr Matheson, with any serious disruption this weekend likely to increase the pressure.

The Tories have already called on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to “get a grip” on the problems faced by ScotRail.

ScotRail passengers warned to brace for more weekend chaos