The ScotRail Alliance is advising customers that services in the central belt on 12 and 13 May are expected to be very busy due to a number of special events taking place.
Friday 12 May
• Take That, SSE Hydro
• European rugby Challenge Cup final, BT Murrayfield
Saturday 13 May
• Take That, SSE Hydro
• European rugby Champions Cup final, BT Murrayfield
Services during the evening rush on Friday towards both Edinburgh and Glasgow will be much busier than normal. Fans are being encouraged to consider earlier trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow, or consider alternative routes via Bathgate, Shotts or Carstairs.
On Saturday 13 May, services towards Edinburgh and Glasgow are expected to get busier as the day progresses. Extra carriages will be added to trains all day on the Edinburgh – Falkirk High – Glasgow route, as well as on key services between Helensburgh, Milngavie and Edinburgh, and select services linking Glenrothes, Edinburgh, and Tweedbank.
Queuing systems will be in place on both days at Exhibition Centre and Haymarket. As with most special event trains, alcohol bans will be in place.
For service information, customers can use the ScotRail app or head to scotrail.co.uk
A ScotRail Alliance spokesperson said: “There’s no doubt that trains are going to be very busy this Friday and Saturday. Please plan your journeys in advance, and consider taking an alternative route where possible to avoid the crowds.
“Please follow the instructions of staff to ensure that things go smoothly.”
The robust quantitative easing program put in place by the European Central Bank (ECB) recently will be instrumental in pushing the euro lower, thus stimulating the export side of the euro zone economy. Growth in other parts of the globe will also help cheaper imports from the currency bloc find a home.
Calls for a dramatic drop in the currency have made headlines recently, but strike me as wishful thinking. To be sure, money printing that suppresses interest rates weighs on the currency, and the euro should be lower to provide cover for a program of reforms. But, unless the ECB opts to target a level for the euro – akin to what the Swiss National Bank did for the franc/euro rate – it’s hard to see how such a drop would occur.
Even in the midst of its existential crisis in 2012, the euro only fell to 1.20 relative to the US dollar. A decline again to this level would represent nearly a 14% drop from its 1.39 peak this year. German policymakers will not be willing participants in a currency that infuses inflationary pressures into its economy. Weak growth and higher inflation are a recipe for short careers.
The investment implications for the current state of play are clear, in our view, although you should bear in mind that you could still lose out. We are overweight euro zone equities based on two fundamental ideas: first, we believe their equity valuations are attractive especially when compared to their US counterparts. Second, the catalyst that would make the market rise is a more proactive stance from the ECB.
This is the policy we have been calling and hoping for, and it has finally arrived. It’s late in coming, but it’s here. The market has taken note, as shown by the EuroStoxx 50 Index which has advanced significantly since early August. So far, so good.
