TRNSMT 2022: ScotRail warn of of rail service disruption when headliners finish

ScotRail has warned festival-goers if they stick around to see Paolo Nutini, The Strokes, or Lewis Capaldi headline Trnsmt they might not be able to get the train home.

Some 50,000 music fans are set to travel to Glasgow Green for the city centre festival, but ScotRail has warned gig-goers to check timetables as their reduced timetable continues to see limited services.

Trnsmt’s curfew on each day is 11pm, with the final trains home from Glasgow Central running just minutes later on Friday and Saturday night.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail’s head of customer operations, warned: “Customers going to Trnsmt on Sunday should be aware that there will be no trains after the event, so please check your entire journey and know what alternative transport is available.”

It means those wanting to see Scot Lewis Capaldi perform the headline slot on Sunday will not be able to get the train home.

A pay dispute between ScotRail, which was taken into public ownership in April, and union Aslef saw ScotRail introduce a temporary timetable, a move which saw hundreds of services cancelled as train drivers refused to work overtime and on their rest day.

The union has accepted a recent pay offer of a 5% pay rise and it will be put to their members for approval on July 11.

On Friday, Paolo Nutini and Sam Fender are set to play the festival on the main stage and, on Saturday, The Strokes are set to entertain the Glasgow Green crowd as well as Foals and Fontaines DC.

But, on both those days, the last train back from Glasgow Central to Neilston will leave 11.05pm, to East Kilbride at 11.17pm, Gourock at 11.21pm, Stirling 11.22pm, and Ayr at 11.30.

Meanwhile, the last train from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverly will be at 11.45pm.

The publicly-owned railway firm has said space would be limited on last services, and travellers should check ahead.

And ScotRail has told fans they may also have to use bus replacement services for part of their journey at the weekend because of Network Rail engineering work between Inverness and Aberdeen, and between Dumfries and Kilmarnock.

Trnsmt is not the only event which has been affected by ScotRail’s driver dispute.

Some 290,000 people are expected to travel to the 150th Open in St Andrews but tournament organisers have said fans should not use the trains.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director of championships at The R&A, said he had “no choice but to urge fans to not travel by rail” next week because there was “a risk that fans who travel by train may find there are no services to get them home”.