ScotRail has been criticised after announcing it will run extra trains to the Open golf despite its temporary timetable - a day after having no services following the TRNSMT music festival.

Approached by The Herald last week, the national rail operator was unable to say whether planned extra services for the event at Royal Troon would go ahead but announced on Monday that it would have extra capacity.

Members of the train drivers' union, ASLEF, are currently working to their contracted hours with no overtime after rejecting a pay offer from the operator. The union said ScotRail had cut services too much, and accused it of prioritising golf over "bread and butter" trains.

The deal, which was also rejected by Unite, the RMT and TSSA would have covered the next three years to April 2027 and involved a 2% pay rise each April and 1% the following January.

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To operate a normal timetable, ScotRail requires rest day working and overtime and as a result has introduced a temporary reduced timetable.

The operator has now confirmed it provide extra services during busy times to Troon from Thursday, 18 to Sunday, 21 July and additional capacity will be available on existing services on practice days.

ScotRail and Stagecoach have also linked up to create the two-in-one Golflink ticket, which includes both return rail travel to Troon station, as well as a regular shuttle bus linking customers to and from the Championship.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: “We will be doing everything we can to support fans attending the return of The Open at Royal Troon next week.

“While a temporary timetable is operating, we have been able to add extra services at busy times both before and after each Championship day."

It comes after there were no services to or from Glasgow following the final day of the TRNSMT music festival on Sunday.

ScotRail said on social media: "Update for customers travelling from TRNSMT: Services terminate before the festival finishes. Please consider alternative arrangements when travelling home from TRNSMT today."

Kevin Lindsay, Scottish Organiser for ASLEF, said: "The extra trains for the golf are possible because ScotRail has cut the service back too much. There are drivers sitting with spare capacity in mess rooms across the country. 

"This hotch-potch of services is, however, a mess of ScotRail's and the Scottish Government's own making, resulting in regular services being cut with regular passengers suffering an inferior service.

"It is beyond frustrating that our bread and butter services are being cut, while ScotRail prioritises the spare capacity that does exist for trains for golf spectators instead."

(Image: Newsquest)

Jane Ann Liston, secretary of Railfuture Scotland said: "The situation is far from ideal.

"The Open at St Andrews two years ago was hit by similar issues due to the same dispute, when golf fans were strongly advised not to travel to St Andrews by rail via Leuchars station because ScotRail could not guarantee that there would be trains to take them home in the evening. This was announced just a matter of days before the championship.

"As a result the share of passengers using the Golflink train and bus service dropped by more than a half, resulting in higher car use.

"Every time industrial action hits the railways, leading to cancellations, car-owners opt for the certainty of using their own vehicles and some of them will never return to the railway.

"With transport being the biggest source of emissions in Scotland, Railfuture Scotland calls upon to all parties to settle this problem once and for all - we owe it to future generations."

A ScotRail spokesperson said: "In normal times, Sunday is a reduced service compared to the rest of the week. That is even more the case under a temporary timetable, where around 50% of a normal timetable was operating. TRNSMT is a late finishing weekend event where, under the current temporary timetable, services wind down earlier in the evening.

"People travelling to the event were also heading from all directions into Glasgow rather than concentrated in one area, which makes it more difficult to resource extra services.

"In contrast, The Open is a daytime event where additional services will be provided during busy times both before and after each Championship day.  Also, people travelling to and from The Open are doing so mainly on one route - Glasgow Central to Troon - unlike the many routes for TRNSMT."

A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: “ScotRail, as a public body and the employer, has responsibility and the ability to negotiate within the limits of public sector pay metrics.

"However, as rail unions have been made aware, any offer beyond these requires Scottish government approval at senior level following the appropriate process."