Aberdeen bars and restaurants are braced for a drop in customers in the wake of ScotRail’s timetable changes.
ScotRail has temporarily cut more than 700 train services in an escalating dispute over pay and lack of train drivers.
The last train on many north and north-east routes now departs well before 8pm, while some destinations have no trains past 6pm.
The truncated timetables have put Aberdeen hospitality on alert, with industry leaders and business owners worried about the impact.
“It is a major concern,” said Ewan McLean, the evening and night-time economy manager for Aberdeen city centre. “If there are no trains after six o’clock, it’s just another thing that makes it a little bit difficult to stay in a city and enjoy what’s there.”
Mr McLean warned the timetable changes will hinder footfall for local venues as evening visitors cancel trips into the city or face being stranded.
Scotrail timetables add to hospitality headaches
Meanwhile, bars and restaurants that were banking on a return of customers after the pandemic now fear further disruption from Scotrail’s timetable changes.
“Places are struggling to get staff, especially chefs,” Mr McLean continued. “They’re really struggling with supplier costs at a time when customers are feeling the pinch. So transport is another one. People rely on the links to get in and out of the city.”
Allan Henderson is the co-owner and founding director of The McGinty’s Group, which owns nine hospitality venues in Aberdeen including The Esslemont on Union Street and high-end seafood restaurant Silver Darling. He said the timetable changes are yet another barrier to eating out.
“If it means people in outlying districts such as Inverurie have to get earlier trains home, then some of them just won’t bother coming down for the night,” he said, adding that restaurants are likely to be hardest hit.
“If people are coming in and having a meal, instead of being able to sit in the restaurant till nine or ten o’clock, for fear of missing a train they probably just won’t take a chance.”
Mr McLean was unable to put a figure on the number of people that visit Aberdeen on later trains.
But he suspects the new timetables will have far-reaching consequences.
“The night-time offering in Aberdeen is very strong,” Mr McLean said. “And as a draw, we’ve got people coming in from Inverness, and from as far south as Dundee.
He added: “That may not disappear entirely, but it’s certainly going to be massively reduced.”
