ALMOST 5000 golf fans have already booked their spots on special rail services heading to Gleneagles for the Ryder Cup.
Sales of tickets for the dedicated train services opened around a fortnight ago to high demand, Transport Scotland said.
The services will make an extra 7500 spaces available for those heading to the Ryder Cup each day of the tournament.
Transport Minister Keith Brown unveiled the sales figures as he visited Gleneagles station to meet spectators buying train tickets for travel to the 2014 event.
The tournament in September will see the world's top golfers do battle in the tie between European and America in Perthshire.
Mr Brown said: "Scotland will be propelled to a truly international audience during 2014, with spectators in tens of thousands and audiences in their millions watching the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games, among other events.
"It is only right we offer a worthy welcome to our visitors, including an attractive transport network with sufficient capacity. With the ongoing station upgrades announced earlier this year and these extra spaces, spectators can relax in the knowledge we will get them to the event in comfort and on time."
The Scottish Government will contribute £1 million to the new £3.8m link road aimed at improving safety and access between Gleneagles station and the A9 road.
Project managers Perth and Kinross Council are contributing £1.5m to the scheme, with a further £1.2m coming from the Tayside and Central Scotland transport body, Tactran.
Work on the road is expected to be completed by June next year.
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