ScotRail Adds 3,649 Festival Shows Worth of Extra Seats and Late-Night Trains

ScotRail is deploying extra late-night trains and longer carriages from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 30, to handle the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and International Festival. The Fringe alone features 53,884 performances of 3,649 shows across 258 venues, making it nearly as large as last year’s record-breaking event. Additional capacity will serve routes to Glasgow, Fife, Dundee, and the Borders, with queuing systems expected at Edinburgh Waverley station.

Extra capacity on key routes

ScotRail will operate longer trains between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street, the Borders, Fife, Perth, Dundee, Leven, Stirling, Dunblane, Bathgate, and North Berwick. Late-night services will run every night to Glasgow and additional evenings to Tweedbank, Dundee, and Leven. A special North Berwick to Edinburgh service continues through August 9 for Fringe by the Sea events. Mark Ilderton, ScotRail’s service delivery director, said the expanded timetable provides “more opportunities to travel home after evening performances and adding thousands of seats throughout the festival period.”

Transport chaos amid Princes Street closure

Princes Street remains closed following a fire, forcing tram services to halt east of the city centre and buses onto a congested George Street. Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth is meeting council leader Jane Meagher to discuss government support. Award-winning chef Dean Banks warned his Dulse restaurant on The Shore faces potential losses of up to £100,000 in August alone due to the transport disruption. The closure mirrors Glasgow’s Union Street fire but affects fewer businesses directly, with 6 impacted compared to 71 in Glasgow.

Passenger planning advice

ScotRail urges festival-goers to purchase tickets before boarding and check the time of their last train to avoid rush-hour queues. Stations will be busier than normal, particularly after evening performances. Those normally walking or taking the tram from Waverley to venues outside the city centre should allow extra time or travel via Haymarket instead. Full details are available on ScotRail’s Edinburgh Festivals webpage and through the ScotRail app.

Record Fringe scale strains infrastructure

The 2026 Fringe is nearly as large as last year’s record event, with only a slight reduction in scale. The combination of record festival attendance and Princes Street’s closure creates unprecedented transport pressure. Queuing systems may be introduced at Edinburgh Waverley and other busy stations to manage safe boarding during peak times after performances end.

Final Thoughts

ScotRail’s expanded timetable addresses record festival demand, but Princes Street’s closure limits overall transport relief. Businesses along the tram route remain under pressure, and passengers must plan journeys carefully to avoid delays.

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