Jenny Gilruth declines to apologise as ScotRail advises Tartan Army to leave Scotland match early

Kick off is at 7.45pm but the last train of the night from Mount Florida, the national stadium’s closet station, back to Glasgow Central will leave before the final whistle.

The cuts are a result of the continuing pay dispute involving train drivers unions Aslef, which has led to an axing of daily services by up to a half in an emergency timetable due to a shortage of staff.

Talks over resolving the dispute are due to take place on Thursday.

Scottish Conservatives' transport spokesman Graham Simpson was concerned there were no provisions to deal with those travelling to and from Hampden for the big match.

And he said: "Football fans have been used to leaving matches early to beat the rush. In this case they've been told to leave early because there is no rush. There are no trains. Can the minister just agree with me that this situation is not acceptable? And would she like to apologise to the Tartan Army."

Ms Gilruth did not apologise.

Instead she said: "The temporary timetable was implemented gives a more stable and reliable service for passengers.

"We know people want certainty when they travel. ScotRail has looked at how best to give as much certainty as it can during what, as we know, has been a very challenging period for passengers.

"ScotRail have advised that there is not sufficient bus capacity available to support transport for crowds from Hampden to Glasgow that a high capacity rail service would accommodate and replacement buses procured are a substitute for planned or unplanned disruption, leaving no gaps in relation to the reduced timetable.

"But to do so across a network at the current time would require an enormous fleet of buses at significant expense.

"The answer to this is to resolve the dispute. We all want to see a resolution to this dispute, not just for the passengers who've been travelling to the football match today but everyone in Scotland who uses our rail service."

She said that for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine at Hampden a week ago, approximately 7000 fans travelled to the game and only 2,500 travelled back, as "generally, fans prefer to walk back to the city centre".

Mr Simpson responded: "Well, my word. So the minister's answer to football fans tonight is walk. Walk to the city centre, because there's no other alternative, unless you've taken your own car.

"I'm encouraged that there are going to be talks. I know the minister hasn't bothered to dirty her hands with getting involved with the talks so far. But can she tell us how confident she is that this situation will be resolved tomorrow and that we don't have a summer of chaos."

The transport minister responded: "I am not in the negotiating room. It is appropriate for ScotRail, the employer to negotiate directly with the trade unions, that is how we resolve industrial disputes."

ScotRail encouraged fans to get to the ground as early as possible as trains would be busy, with the turnstiles at Hampden Park opening at 6pm.

The operator also urged people to buy tickets ahead of time and said queueing systems would be in place at Glasgow Central before the game.

Fans travelling to Scotland v Ukraine a week ago faced a similar predicament.

But ScotRail did add extra services on the day of the match to take fans to local areas and some further-away destinations such as Edinburgh, Stirling and Ayr.

Scottish Labour's transport spokesman Neil Bibby questioned why there are no replacement buses when thee Scottish Government had sanctioned giving axed Dutch state rail transport firm Abellio a contract to provide the services.

"Is the government's position seriously there are no buses anywhere in Scotland that can be used to provide a rail replacement bus service tonight for fans from Hampden," he asked.

Ms Gilruth responded: "It it is the case that ScotRail has confirmed that securing those rail replacement buses is proving significantly more challenging than prior to the pandemic. A fall in the number of available bus and taxi drivers, coinciding, of course, with greater demand as the economy has opened up in relation to Covid, has meant there is less availability across the country.

"And there are a number of staffing pressures facing our bus operators at the moment not least Covid, and of course, Brexit.

"We are already seeing bus operators having to make some really challenging decisions around about where they're able to provide services. I have asked ScotRail to at all times consider whether or not they're able to provide rail replacement services. On this occasion, they tell me that's not been the case. "

ScotRail said there will also be very limited journey opportunities departing from Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street after the match, with no trains on most routes out of the city centre.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail’s head of customer operations, said the operator was “doing all we can to help football fans head to Hampden and cheer on the national team”.

But he warned: “Customers should be aware that the last trains of the night will depart Mount Florida before the final whistle, so we urge fans to plan ahead and consider their travel options.”

Some 700 services have been cut from the ScotRail timetable as a pay dispute rumbles on, with members of the Aslef union refusing to work on rest days as a result.