Getty ImagesScotRail has announced it will provide extra services for people attending The Open at Royal Troon in South Ayrshire this week.
The state-owned transport provider said more trains will be made available during busy periods at Troon Station on championship days while extra capacity will be added on practice days.
It comes after festival-goers were left with no trains in Glasgow on Sunday for the final night of TRNSMT.
ScotRail told around 50,000 music fans attending the event on Sunday they would have to seek alternative transport as all services would terminate before the festival ended.
More than a quarter of ScotRail trains have been cancelled after the rail operator introduced a temporary timetable on July 10.
The company said overtime has historically been needed to deliver a normal timetable of more than 2,250 services each day.
But fewer drivers than normal are taking on overtime or rest day working as part of the ongoing pay dispute.
The train operator has been in pay discussions with rail trade unions ASLEF, RMT, TSSA, and Unite for several weeks.
A formal pay offer was made on July 5 but was rejected by all four trade unions.
‘Beyond frustrating that our bread and butter services are being cut’
ASLEF claimed ScotRail was able to add extra trains for the golf tournament because it had cut back its services too much with its temporary timetable.
Kevin Lindsay, Scottish Organiser at the union, 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.”
ScotRail said on Monday that it had teamed up with Stagecoach to provide a 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’s 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.
“Our all-inclusive Golflink ticket is a great way to combine train travel form anywhere on our network to Troon station, with a frequent bus link to the event course included, saving time and helping your journey run smoothly.
“Purchasing your tickets in advance means less queuing and more viewing at The Open at Royal Troon, and tickets can be purchased via the ScotRail app, website, ticket offices or on board.”
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