FOOTBALL specials are set to be introduced to take thousands of fans to the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

Rail chiefs today admitted they were looking to put on the trains - once commonly used to transport supporters to games across the country - as one of a series of options to cope with the massive influx of 50,000 Hibs and Hearts supporters to Glasgow.

One of the options could see the special trains, which were scaled back in the 1970s because of the rise in hooliganism, travelling from Edinburgh Waverley straight to King's Park and Mount Florida stations near Hampden Park - completely bypassing the centre of Glasgow.

Football bosses yesterday finally put an end to the hopes of both sets of supporters that the historic clash would be held at Murrayfield, which has room for 15,000 more fans than Hampden.

The move came as First Minister Jack McConnell last night said he would like to see glamour ties, such as the Capital clubs' semi-final, played at venues around Scotland other than Hampden.

But the Scottish Football Association decided to play the match at Hampden despite calls to move it to avoid the problem of transporting so many people from Edinburgh through to Glasgow.

A 12.15pm kick-off on Sunday, April 2, means that fans travelling by rail will only have the realistic option of two early trains to make it to Hampden in time for the match.

And engineering works at Haymarket station mean there will be only one train every hour for fans heading back from Glasgow later in the day.

First ScotRail today took the first steps to avoid the predicted transport chaos by unveiling plans to put on football specials that will go direct to Glasgow Central via Carstairs.

Fans would then need to make their own way to Mount Florida which is the nearest station to Hampden.

The other option would see the football specials go from Haymarket and Waverley via Carstairs and then Motherwell before heading towards King's Park and Mount Florida via Newton and Burnside. Hampden is less than ten minutes walk from both.

In 1995, fans of Aberdeen and Dundee shared the same trains heading to the Scottish League Cup final and a heavy British Transport Police presence ensured rival supporters were kept apart, but it is not known whether that will happen with Hibs and Hearts supporters.

Fans who travel on the football specials would face an alcohol ban and also a heavy police presence.

The possibility of extra carriages is also being explored by transport bosses but extra services have been ruled out because of planned engineering works.

First ScotRail will meet British Transport Police this week to decide how to segregate rival fans, but designating Waverley for Hibs fans and Haymarket for Hearts fans has already been ruled out.

A spokesman for First ScotRail said it was constrained by engineering works at Haymarket that mean all Fife and Aberdeen trains will go through the same lines as Edinburgh-Glasgow services, which means trains between the cities will be hourly, instead of the usual half-hourly service between 12pm and 9pm on Sundays.

He said: "We are looking at any opportunity to provide special trains, but anything we can do will be limited."

Neil Greig, head of policy at the AA, said the reduced service will mean more cars on the M8.

He added: "This will be one of the first big tests for Transport Scotland, co-ordinating the transport for an event on this scale will be difficult but not impossible.

"Extra train services will be vital as Hampden is not exactly car-friendly, but if the right amount of planning goes in then it should pass off relatively smoothly."

Speaking on the BBC's Offside programme, Jack McConnell said he understood the frustrations felt by Hearts and Hibs fans.

He said: "In this particular situation, given that both clubs couldn't agree on the venue, the SFA had no choice.

"But in general I would like to see some of the bigger matches played away from Hampden to allow more fans around Scotland to see the matches."

Taken from the Scotsman