Scotland’s home match against Japan on Saturday, 28th March, may not have gone the way of the host nation, though for ScotRail, the match saw over one-third of the attendees at the game (16,622 people) arrive by train via the station at Mount Florida.

The match held at Barclays Hampden was the biggest test for ScotRail services since a major fire in an adjacent building to Glasgow Central Station, which had forced the station’s closure earlier this month. It had only reopened in full just four days before the match.

The majority of trains that took fans to and from the match started and terminated at Glasgow Central station. Over the course of Saturday, 28th March, 130,000 passengers passed through Glasgow Central using ScotRail services, 10% higher than the average for a normal Saturday.

ScotRail has described the event as a great success, transporting so many fans to and from the match, which they say shows strong passenger confidence in the rail company and a high demand for rail travel.

“We were delighted to welcome thousands of fans back on board for the Scotland v Japan match on Saturday evening.

It was great to see such a strong return to rail with more than 130,000 journeys recorded across the day, and a significant proportion of supporters choosing to travel to and from the match with ScotRail.

I’d like to thank our customers for their patience and support over recent weeks, as well as our staff who have worked incredibly hard to keep people moving safely and smoothly.”

David Ross, ScotRail Chief Operating Officer