There has long been rivalry between Scotland's biggest city and Scotland's capital city.

Now ScotRail is urging residents of both to celebrate their differences by swapping places.

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Marketing Edinburgh are collaborating to market the cities by asking people to change their hometowns for the day.

Nesta Gilliland, head of marketing and sales at ScotRail, said: “Glasgow and Edinburgh both have great shopping, incredible culture, lively nightlife and family days out.

"However, 90 per cent of those we spoke with agreed that both cities are different in their own distinctive ways.

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“That means those who live in either place are in an enviable position. When they travel by train, in less than an hour they can easily be in the other city soaking up amazing experiences.

"That’s what our Great City Swap campaign celebrates.

“We want people to travel from East to West, and vice-versa, with ScotRail. It’s not that the cities don’t like each other – they do – it’s just that they need to take the time to get to know each other again.

"And we’ve got lots of creative ways to encourage people to take the plunge and get swapping.

“Through train travel, we’ll show how easy and enjoyable it can be to discover the real Edinburgh and Glasgow.”

Promising “memorable experiences and hidden gems” for those that take the trip, The Great City Swap features advertising, digital and events over the coming weeks, encouraging people to travel by train.

The campaign was devised by ScotRail following research into the relationship between both cities, which revealed surprising insights.

Although 90 per cent of those questioned agreed that the 50-minute rail journey time made the idea of day-tripping attractive, there was a significant drop in the number of people who actually followed through and travelled for leisure.

A lack of local knowledge of the other city was cited as making people less likely to visit while more than 60 per cent said they would appreciate more advertising and awareness of reasons to travel.

As a result, ScotRail took to the streets to speak to residents of each city, gather their insider tips and create The Great City Swap – a campaign set to deliver compelling reasons to visit through bespoke itineraries and bucket lists.

Already, residents have recommended almost 200 unusual and exciting reasons to ‘swap’ – from urban wakeboarding in Glasgow’s Port Dundas to discovering hidden gardens just off of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

ScotRail is urging locals to keep submitting their favourite city haunts at www.greatcityswap.co.uk

Those who do will not only help attract more people to their city, their suggestions will be loaded into an itinerary selector to be unveiled in October.

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Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council and chairman of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “Our two great cities share so many common bonds, with outstanding sights and attractions on offer.

"We know that People Make Glasgow and I would urge everyone, not least our neighbours in Edinburgh, to come and experience our welcome and hospitality.

"From world-class museums and family attractions, to shopping and great food and entertainment, there really is something for everyone to enjoy.”