ANGRY commuters have hit out at a change to the colour-coded train timetable on display at Musselburgh Railway Station which informs them that there should be "many seats" available at peak times.

Complaints about a lack of capacity have been ongoing for over a year, with commuters frequently unable to board peak-time trains at Musselburgh because they are too full.

READ MORE: Dozens of commuters left stranded by overcrowded train

One commuter, who did not want to be named, gets the 8.22 train into Edinburgh each morning and told the Courier: "I don't think I've ever got a seat in the morning."

Passengers, she added, were still regularly turned away as the train was too full, with this last happening as recently as Wednesday.

East Lothian Courier: Standing room only as doors close on 8.13am Musselburgh to Edinburgh at Musselburgh Station

  • Dozens of commuters are regularly forced to stand on trains at Musselburgh

This has led to renewed calls from local councillors for extra carriages or more services to be provided on the busy North Berwick to Edinburgh line at peak times.

READ MORE: Railway line 'at breaking point'

Councillor John Williamson, Musselburgh West, said: "I think the colour-coded timetable is a bit patronising.

"Customers are well aware of how busy the trains are and what their chances are of getting on a train, and getting a seat at Wallyford or Musselburgh.

"Longer trains or a few extra services at peak travel times are what is needed. Many people don't have the flexibility to travel by an earlier or later train, which is what the coded timetable appears to be advocating."

Councillor Stuart Currie, Musselburgh East and Carberry, added: "Whatever information is provided it needs to be accurate and useful. Saying that many seats are available and then finding out there are no seats is just not acceptable.

"What is required is not just a few colour codes but increased capacity and reliability and that is needed urgently for commuters."

Councillor John McNeil, Musselburgh West, added that the trains were "packed" when they arrived at the station, saying: "It's been like this for ages. This is not acceptable and extra carriages need to be added to the trains at peak times. The people of Musselburgh need something better if they need to travel by rail."

READ MORE: Councillor warns of rail 'calamity'

Councillor John Caldwell, Musselburgh East and Carberry, added: "Unfortunately, I am not aware of the changed timetable; however, I can say that the feedback I am receiving is that on regular days passengers are standing for the entire journey into Edinburgh."

A ScotRail spokeswoman said: "By conducting passenger counts, we monitor demand for seats and try to allocate carriages to best meet that demand.

"We colour-code timetables to help customers select where services may be quieter but recognise that, at times, demand does outstrip expected occupancy, which can fluctuate day-to-day.

"We always ask customers to board trains along their whole length, as often there is increased demand on particular carriages, resulting in others being less occupied."

The company said it carried out two passenger counting exercises each year to understand where there was growth in different parts of the network so that it could make alterations to the resources allocated.

The results from these inform the colour-coded timetables, which are published online and on station posters.

East Lothian Courier:

  • The newly updated colour-coded timetable claims there are "many seats" on all peak-time services from Musselburgh

The most recent data for Musselburgh, from May to September, was: 8.13 service with three coaches showed a 78.8 per cent capacity, with 198 seats and 156 occupied; 08.22 with four coaches showed a 92.9 per cent capacity with 282 seats, 262 of which were occupied. Both of these results would generate a green colour-coding, as there were seats available.

By December 2019, following the introduction of the new electric and HST fleets, the company will have added an extra 100,000 weekday seats to the network – rising from just more than 500,000 seats at the start of the franchise to more than 600,000.