Late night weekend train services to connect Fife with capital during Edinburgh Festival season

With hundreds of thousands of people expected to descend on the capital during the city’s festival season, which runs from Friday, August 4 to Monday, August 28, ScotRail has announced plans for more services, late night trains and extra seats during that time.

To support travel to and from the thousands of shows taking place across the city, the rail operator has confirmed it will operate extra late night trains throughout the event.

Although daily late night services will run on the Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street line, the late night operating services in Fife will be at the weekends. On Fridays, from August 4 to 25, ScotRail will run a late night service to Dundee and Glenrothes with Thornton. These will depart Edinburgh Waverley at 23.56 for Dundee and 23.59 for Glenrothes with Thornton.

On Saturdays between August 5 and 26, there will be a late night service back to Dundee at 23.56.

The rail operator says hundreds of extra carriages, providing tens of thousands of additional seats, will be added at times when they’re most needed, to and from the capital.

David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “ScotRail is excited to play its part in making the Edinburgh festivals a success, and we look forward to welcoming all visitors to the capital city aboard our trains. To support the event, we’ve made significant enhancements to our services. We’ll be providing more trains, including late night services, to accommodate the increased demand during this vibrant period and we’ve added tens of thousands of extra seats at the times when they are needed the most.

"Our service will be busy throughout the festivals, so customers should plan their journeys in advance. To make your travel experience as smooth as possible, I’d encourage everyone to purchase their train tickets before boarding. The mTicket system, available on the ScotRail app, offers a convenient way to secure your tickets and download them straight to your mobile phone, avoiding any unnecessary queues on the day.”

Across the network other late night weekend services will run on Fridays between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street Low Level, via Bathgate; and North Berwick. Saturday services will also run between the capital and Glasgow Queen Street Low Level.

A late night service will run from North Berwick to Edinburgh from Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 13 to support return travel from ‘Fringe by the Sea’. On Sundays between August 6 and 27, an extra late night service will run from Edinburgh to North Berwick.

For full details on Festival services visit the ScotRail website