TRAIN passengers are being advised to plan their journey, allow extra time at stations and expect some services to be busier than normal as the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships comes to an end. 

More than half a million customers travelled on ScotRail services across the country last weekend, and the train operator is expecting a similar couple of days this Saturday and Sunday. 

The cycling events have proved to be hugely popular with locals and visitors, seeing 197,000 people travel on ScotRail services on Sunday, August 6 alone - the highest number since 2015.

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The woman's road race will be taking place on Sunday as the best female riders in the world tackle the Loch Lomond to Glasgow course, while the Moutain Bike Cross-Country Elite Olympic event takes place at Glentress Forest in the Scottish Borders.  

We previously reported ScotRail has been running more trains and increased services to support those travelling to events.

The Edinburgh Festivals also continues, and it’s a full Scottish football fixture list with three top-flight matches taking place on Saturday and another three on Sunday.  

Customers are being encouraged to plan their journey in advance and purchase their tickets through the ScotRail app and there will be extra staff on hand to assist customers. 

Phil Campbell, customer operations director, said:  "This will be another very busy weekend and we are again excited to be playing our part.   

"We have made significant improvements to our services to support the events, running as many trains as possible, with extra seats to help where they are needed most.  

"Last weekend was a record-breaking success with more than half a million journeys on our services, and we are looking forward to helping people get around for another exciting couple of days across the country. 

"To make your travel experience as smooth as possible, I’d encourage to purchase your train tickets before boarding.

"The mTicket system, available on the ScotRail app, offers a convenient way to secure your tickets and download them straight to your mobile phone, avoiding any unnecessary queues on the day."