ScotRail is urging football fans travelling by train to the men’s Scottish Cup semi-finals this weekend to plan their journeys in advance. The operator is adding extra seats to as many trains as possible to help fans travel to the matches, but is advising supporters to leave extra time for travel as trains will be busy.

Falkirk will play Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park on Saturday 29 April (kick-off 12.15), before Celtic play Rangers on Sunday 30 April (kick-off 13.30). Two other events also take place on Saturday, 29 April: the Pavilion Festival at Low Green in Ayr between 12.00 and 22.30, and Stereofunk 2023 at Chatelherault Country Park, also between 12.30 and 22.30.

ScotRail is adding extra carriages to trains between Glasgow Central and Ayr, and between Dalmuir and Motherwell / Cumbernauld / Larkhall to support the events, but nevertheless urges passengers to plan ahead as services will be busier than usual.

Queuing systems will be in place at stations before and after the final whistle for both Scottish Cup semi-finals, which include Glasgow Central, Mount Florida, Kings Park, and key stations across the network.

ScotRail is asking Rangers fans to queue on the Carriage Drive off Hope Street at Glasgow Central on Sunday and travel on trains to Mount Florida, while it asks Celtic fans to queue on the main concourse for services to Kings Park. After the match, fans are asked to return to the station promptly and join the respective queues at Mount Florida for Rangers fans, and at Kings Park for Celtic supporters.

To reduce the need to queue on the day, customers are encouraged to buy return tickets to either Mount Florida or Kings Park in advance via the mTicket system on the ScotRail app. Buying tickets through the mTickets system means people can buy their tickets from the comfort of their home or on the way to the station and it will instantly become available on their mobile device.

ScotRail will have extra staff on hand at key stations across the network to help passengers, who are also reminded that they are not allow to consume alcohol on ScotRail services and in ScotRail stations.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail Head of Customer Operations, said: “We’re preparing for a big weekend of football and festivals, with fans travelling to Glasgow to cheer on their team in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, while music lovers will be heading to the Pavilion festival in Ayr and Stereofunk in Chatelherault.

“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, so our advice to customers is to plan ahead.

“I encourage anyone travelling this weekend to allow extra time for travel, and to minimise your need to queue, buy your return tickets in advance on the ScotRail app or website.”