Summer rugby causes a problem, say rail chiefs

ScotRail boss says full probe under way after severe congestion in capital

Rail chiefs have suggested rugby should not be played at Murrayfield during the summer after admitting failing to cope with the number of travellers in Edinburgh.

ScotRail boss Alex Hynes gave evidence to the rural economy and connectivity committee at the Scottish Parliament where he was quizzed on the performance of the Abelio franchise.

Severe congestion was suffered on summer weekends at the capital’s train stations as the International Festival and Fringe and rugby and football brought thousands of extra people to the capital.

On August 24, passengers became so distressed emergency cords on trains were pulled in three separate incidents.

The date was the last of the Edinburgh Festival clash, running alongside a Scotland rugby international against France.

Travellers packed on to platforms at Haymarket and Waverley and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said it was a “miracle” no one had been killed.

Speaking before MSPs, Mr Hynes said a full investigation is under way, the findings of which will be published when complete.

He said: “We took many people into Edinburgh and clearly the numbers of people who wanted to travel back at the same time created some pressure on the system.

“We had three circumstances where passengers actually pulled the passenger alarm, which meant trains were brought to a stand, and clearly in an event which caused that much customer pain, we’ve done what we call an incident learning review – the learnings won’t just affect the railway, the learnings will also affect major event management in the city of Edinburgh.”

“I’m not sure it is wise for us to host rugby at Murrayfield at the same time as the busiest festival weekend, and that’s a conversation I’ve already started to have with Scottish Rugby.

“So it’s clear to me we’re going to have to manage this risk in a different way.

“I’m disappointed that happened on the Saturday night because the rest of the festival plan worked perfectly.”

A spokesperson for Scottish Rugby said: “Scottish Rugby hosts summer Test matches every four years as part of preparations for the Rugby World Cup and as such the dates and times are known well in advance to all partners creating ample time to flag and discuss any concerns, which for this year’s games none were received.

“The match versus France on August 24 kicked off at 1.10pm and the stadium was empty by 4pm.”

Picture: Andrew Cowan. Alex Hynes is to conduct a full investigation of the rail service during the festival.