SERVICE cuts with nationalised ScotRail mean the last trains to major cities will leave before Scotland's World Cup play-off with Ukraine starts.
Ministers are being urged to lay on more trains to ensure the cuts do not stop many of the Tartan Army attending.
Train operator ScotRail confirmed it will slash services by nearly a third from next week due to a driver shortage exacerbated by two pay disputes involving the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Aslef unions after the rejection of a 2.2% pay rise.
ScotRail says the temporary but indefinite move to axe 700 services, which comes into play from Monday, has come as a result of the drivers pay dispute which has meant some refusing to take up the option of working rest days and Sundays.
Scotland's key tie with Ukraine will kick off on June 1 at 7.45pm at Hampden, however the last train to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Aberdeen will leave before kick-off.
The last train from Glasgow to Aberdeen is scheduled to leave at 6.41pm, to Dundee it will be 7.10pm, and to Perth it will be 7.37pm.
The last service to Edinburgh is scheduled for 10.15pm - at least a quarter of an hour before the final whistle would be expected to sound, and that does not take into account any extra time or penalties.
There are now fears that many of the hardcore Tartan Army fans could miss the match.
The Scottish Government decided last year to take ScotRail under direct state control stripping Dutch state transport firm Abellio of the franchise three years early in the wake of continuing outcry over service failings and rising costs to the taxpayer.
The Scottish Government took charge of the rail operator from April, and was running around 2,400 train services each day through an arms-length company ScotRail Trains Ltd.
Speaking as the rail services was brought back into public hands last month, the First Minister said it was a “historic moment” and a “significant milestone".
ScotRail says the temporary but indefinite move to axe 700 services, which comes into play from Monday, has come as a result of the drivers pay dispute which has meant some refusing to take up the option of working rest days and Sundays.
The service is reliant on drivers doing overtime to keep trains running.
The driver shortages that have been exacerbated by the dispute lodged by union Aslef have resulted in nearly 1200 train cancellations in the last 13 days. Nearly 150 more are scheduled to be cancelled on Friday.
The swingeing rail cuts in Scotland have been criticised as the worst seen in a generation.
Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservatives' transport spokesman and former deputy leader said: "The play-off with Ukraine is Scotland’s most important World Cup clash since we last reached the tournament itself in 1998, so the SNP Government and ScotRail must ensure the tens of thousands of fans attending can get home that night.
“We know that much of the Tartan Army hail from our northern cities, so they need to be catered for appropriately. It’s completely unacceptable that the last trains to Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth leave before the match has even kicked off.
"Many of these supporters will have work the following morning, even assuming they can afford the expense of an overnight hotel stay in Glasgow.
"ScotRail simply must lay on additional, later services that night. But this match just highlights how absurd the new scaled-back timetable is.
"It’s imperative that Jenny Gilruth and her colleagues thrash out a resolution with the unions to ensure normal service on Scotland’s railways is resumed as soon as possible.
"Just seven weeks in, and the SNP’s nationalisation of ScotRail is proving disastrous for passengers, who are currently facing a summer of misery on Scotland’s trains."
Phil Campbell, ScotRail head of customer operations, said: “We’ll be issuing travel advice for the upcoming Scotland internationals in the lead up to the games.”
Ministers confirmed that of 130 drivers that are being trained up to try and stop the need for rest day working, 38 drivers will be trained by the end of the summer, rising to 55 by the end of the year and to 100 "after that".
It was suggested by the Scottish Conservatives' shadow transport minister that it could take till at least 2024 before ScotRail is off the emergency timetable.
Ministers have confirmed that of 130 drivers that are being trained up to try and stop the need for rest day working, 38 drivers will be trained by the end of the summer, rising to 55 by the end of the year and to 100 in the summer of the following year.
And Ms Sturgeon said the next review over whether the measures will stay in place is not expected till June 3 and would not put a date on when all services would be restored.
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