To help Inverness Caledonian Thistle supporters travel to and from the men's Scottish Cup Final on Saturday, 3rd June at Hampden Park, ScotRail has announced it will run an ‘Inverness Express' football special.
The kick-off time for the match has been changed to 17.30, which means there would be no scheduled trains for Inverness fans to travel home after the end of the match. The special train will depart from Inverness station at 11:03 on the morning of Saturday, 3rd of June, and travel non-stop to Glasgow Queen Street, arriving there at 14:21.
Tickets for the special train cost £76.90 return for adults with child fares also available, including return travel by ScotRail train between Glasgow Central and Mount Florida, which is the nearest station to Hampden Park.
For the return journey to Inverness, the train will depart from Glasgow Queen Street at 20:48 and arrive back in Inverness at 00:02. In the match goes to extra time and a penalty shoot-out, the train will depart from Glasgow Queen Street at 21:30, and arrive in Inverness at 00:27.
The football special is the only available service back to Inverness after the final whistle, so Inverness fans should plan ahead and book their tickets for travel as soon as possible. Tickets for the ‘Inverness Express' go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, 20th May, and will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis, and can only be bought from the Travel Shop in Inverness station.
Unfortunately, discounted Railcards, Rovers, Travel Passes, and Club 50 tickets are not valid for travel on the football special service.
Credit: Poolecj9143 via Flickr
ScotRail will provide further updates regarding travel information for fans travelling to the match in the lead-up to the event.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail Head of Customer Operations, said “We're thrilled to be able to support travelling Inverness fans heading to Hampden to cheer on their team on Cup Final day, by providing a football special service to take them to and from the match.
“The later-than-normal kick-off time would have left fans with no options to travel home by rail after the final whistle.
“I ask fans to book early to avoid disappointment as we expect demand for tickets on the ‘Inverness Express' to be high.”
Scot Gardiner, Inverness Caledonian Thistle CEO, said “I am delighted to see ScotRail really stepping up to the plate for Highland football fans on this occasion.
“We have been in very constructive communications with them since the 4 May, and to see everyone's efforts come to fruition to give Caley Thistle fans another option to be able to enjoy what will be a fantastic occasion in Glasgow, is what we have all been trying to achieve.
“On behalf of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, we thank them for making the ‘Inverness Express' a reality on 3 June.”
