ScotRail has confirmed it will add more seats and more services this weekend when Scotland play their final Guinness Six Nations match.
The national team will sign off their campaign against Italy at BT Murrayfield on Saturday, 18 March, at 12.30.
To help fans travel to and from the match, ScotRail is adding more seats to trains on routes in and out of Edinburgh throughout the day, including between Edinburgh Waverley and Fife, Perth, Inverness, and the Borders Railway.
The train operator is also adding additional services between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High between 10.00 and 17.00 to help manage the expected increase in passenger numbers.
Customers are encouraged to plan their journey in advance and allow additional time for travel as services will be much busier than normal throughout the day with a number of football matches taking place across the country on Saturday. Heart of Midlothian fans will make the trip to Aberdeen, and Hibernian supporters travel to Glasgow for their match against Celtic.
Limited access at Haymarket station caused by the ongoing redevelopment of an adjacent building means customers should expect longer waiting times for the train home after the rugby.
The building work has restricted access to Haymarket and reduced the capacity within the station by half, and as a result, ScotRail is unable to provide its normal queuing system after the game, and the station will not be accessible via the ramp located at the rear of the station. Any customers travelling from Haymarket will be required to use the main entrance.
Due to the limited capacity for queuing inside Haymarket station, some customers may be held outside of the station or be redirected to Edinburgh Waverley to catch their train home.
Fans are asked to consider travelling straight to Edinburgh Waverley after the final whistle to reduce their need to queue.
Edinburgh Trams operate a fast and frequent service between the entrance of the stadium and St Andrew Square tram stop – a short walk from Edinburgh Waverley.
Edinburgh City Centre is also accessible from BT Murrayfield by a number of Lothian Bus services (1, 3, 12, 22, 25, 26, 30, 31 or 33).
Customers travelling by rail are also encouraged to buy their return tickets for travel through the mTicket system on the ScotRail app, either from the comfort of their home or on the way to the station where it will instantly become available on their mobile device.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail Head of Customer Operations, said:
“We’re doing all we can to help supporters travel to BT Murrayfield to see Scotland sign off their Six Nations campaign.
“To help everyone’s journey run smoothly, we’re adding more seats to trains to and from Edinburgh throughout the day, as well as more services between Edinburgh and Glasgow until early evening.
“However, customers should plan ahead as services are expected to be much busier than normal with various other sporting events also taking place across the country.
“We encourage customers to consider travelling home from Edinburgh Waverley station due to the ongoing access and capacity restrictions at Haymarket. This will reduce their need to queue on the day.”