Aberdeen fans are being warned of rail disruption ahead of the Dons’ League Cup semi-final against Rangers in Glasgow on Sunday.
Due to engineering works taking place at the weekend, replacement buses will be in operation between the Granite City and Dundee.
ScotRail says this will result in longer journey times for those travelling, with services being busier than usual and fewer seats being available.
So far, over 13,000 Aberdeen fans have purchased tickets for the match at Hampden, with ScotRail urging them to allow more time for their journeys.
Once in Glasgow, fans will be able to take the train to Hampden for the 3pm kick-off, with the train operator putting on additional trains before and after the match.
In order to arrive in the city plenty of time before the match, including transferring from Queen Street to Central station, Aberdeen fans will be able to take the following trains, including bus replacement to Dundee):
- 8.41am, arriving at Glasgow Queen Street 12.14pm
- 9.32am, arriving at Glasgow Queen Street 1.15pm
- 10.27am, arriving at Glasgow Queen Street 2.12pm
ScotRail has also confirmed queuing systems will be in place at Glasgow Central station before the match, as well as at Kings Park and Mount Florida at full-time, with Aberdeen fans asked to make their way home from Kings Park.
Even if the match goes to extra time and penalties, Dons fans will still have plenty of time to get back to Aberdeen, with the last train leaving Glasgow for the Granite City at 9.45pm.
Plan ahead and leave extra time
ScotRail’s Head of Customer Operations, Phil Campbell said: “We’re preparing for another big weekend of football with fans travelling to Glasgow to cheer on their team.
“To help the events run smoothly, we’ll be running as many trains as possible over the weekend, however, trains will be much busier than normal and engineering works will have an impact, so please plan ahead.
“I encourage anyone travelling this weekend to allow extra time for travel, and to minimise your need to queue, buy your tickets in advance on the ScotRail app or website.”
Network Rail Scotland’s route director, Liam Sumpter added: “The multimillion-pound investment we’re making to replace life expired track along several sections of the route is essential to keeping the railway safe and reliable.
“Works of this scale are planned far in advance of football fixtures being released.
“While we appreciate that there’s never a good time for disruption on the railway, we thank fans for their understanding and advise everyone to plan ahead and allow extra time for travelling to and from the respective matches.”
If Aberdeen beat Rangers, they will play the winners of Saturday’s semi-final between Celtic and Kilmarnock, which would be their first final in the competition since 2018.
The Dons last won the League Cup in March 2014, after beating their northern rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4-2 on penalties at Celtic Park in Glasgow following a goalless 120 minutes.
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