CAMPAIGNERS calling for better rail services in East Lothian were told by ScotRail’s boss this week he had “no more trains”.

Phil Verster, managing director of ScotRail Alliance, insisted the company was working at capacity and did not have a carriage to spare to ease the persistent overcrowding issues on the North Berwick line.

And he told an open meeting in Prestonpans on Monday he did not expect any additional trains on the line before the end of next year.

Mr Verster said: “We just have not got the rolling stock, we have not got the trains.”

He also claimed the problems passengers trying to use the North Berwick to Edinburgh trains were having were no worse than anywhere else in the country.

He added: “We have similar degrees of overcrowding all across the network as we have in North Berwick.”

Peak-time trains on the line are frequently so full that passengers are not allowed to board the train and are left stranded on the platform.

Earlier, the meeting, which was hosted by Rail Action Group East of Scotland (RAGES), saw East Lothian MSP Iain Gray confront Mr Verster, claiming the service had got worse since Abellio took over the franchise from First Group last year.

Mr Gray told him: “I have to say that since the franchise changed, dissatisfaction with the local rail services has become a big big part of what my constituents are bringing to me.

“It is really important to understand that the things my constituents are looking for are not unreasonable. People are just looking for the chance to be able to turn up and be sure they will be able to use your service.

“They want to use your trains and want you to provide trains that will allow them to do that.”

Mr Verster was challenged over the lack of services and frequent cancellations of trains on the line, with Harry Cairney, former president of Prestonpans Labour Club, criticising his suggestion that an ongoing industrial dispute was to blame for the problems.

Mr Cairney said: “The trouble is that the travelling public are the ones who suffer. It is having a terrible impact on the staff who are working hard but have to deal with the frustrations of customers.

“It is the worst industrial relations we have seen on the railways for a long time.”

North Berwick councillor David Berry was among those attending who questioned why the company could not negotiate with other firms using the line to use some of their carriages.

Dunbar councillor Michael Veitch pointed out that in April, ScotRail had written to East Lothian Council suggesting it was looking into the possibility of finding rolling stock elsewhere, but Mr Verster said they were in discussions with one company but nothing was happening short-term.

He said until the new trains arrived there was no quick fix for the problems encountered in the county, saying: “From the moment we took over the franchise we have looked to find new trains. They are being built and the moment they are built they will be brought into service.”

The meeting also raised the issue of car parking space at Longniddry and Drem.

Mr Verster said ScotRail was looking at ways of increasing the spaces at the car parks, but there was laughter at his claim that part of the problem in the firm's car parks was caused by people taking advantage of the free spaces when they were not using the train services.

One member of the public told him: “No one goes to Drem and parks their vehicle there unless they are catching a train.”

Mr Verster pledged to take all the views and concerns raised at the meeting back to ScotRail for consideration.