ScotRail communications director David Ross has advised people travelling to the Edinburgh festivals by train to “check before you travel,” with a temporary timetable meaning there will be fewer services than usual in August.

Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Ross said: “We are operating on a temporary timetable at the moment, so there are fewer services than they normally would be for the festivals.

“So our advice to passengers is to check before you travel. Take a look at the ScotRail website or the app and, if you can, don’t leave it until the very last train, because we do expect services to be very busy.”

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He explained the temporary timetable was due to a reliance on “rest-day working and overtime” by train drivers, and that the company was looking to recruit more drivers to reduce this.

He said: “The work that we’re doing just now to hire another 800 drivers over the course of the next five years will help us to significantly reduce reliance on rest day working and run as reliable a service as we possibly can.”

The Edinburgh Festivals are expected to see thousands of festivalgoers attend hundreds of shows throughout the summer month.

As with last week, Sunday’s timetable will be significantly reduced and customers are advised to check the ScotRail app or website to get the latest information.