Glasgow-Edinburgh shuttle trains increase to eight an hour for festival

The Glasgow to Edinburgh shuttle service will increase to eight trains an hour this month as operators step up connections to cater for the Festival crowd.

ScotRail announced trains between Queen Street and Waverley will run more frequently, have more seats and operate later as part of its enhanced timetable for August.

The changes will begin on Friday but kick in fully from Monday with the reopening of the Queen Street tunnel.

The restarting of services to Edinburgh from Queen Street high level via Falkirk High plus the low level services via Airdrie and Bathgate means there will be eight trains an hour running to and from the capital.

The city's world-renowned festival season will get into full swing with the launch of three of the biggest events on Friday - the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), Festival Fringe and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

August, which also takes in the Edinburgh International Book Festival, marks the height of Edinburgh's year-round festivals calendar and the tourist season.

ScotRail said peak services will have extra carriages and the last train from Edinburgh will leave at the later time of 12.30am.

There will be an extra service to Dundee, additional night-time trains to North Berwick and Garscadden on Fridays and Saturdays, and later services to Glenrothes via Dunfermline on Fridays.

Cathy Craig, ScotRail's commercial director, said: "We want to help as many people as possible get to and from the capital so that they can be part of the incredible festival experience.

"Trains are always busy during the festivals. If people can plan ahead, give themselves plenty of time and consider using all of the services that are going to Edinburgh - not just those that operate on the high level - then I am confident that we will be able to carry more people than ever before.''

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