A TEENAGER who fainted on a packed train has said the overcrowding issues on the line are “just not good enough”.

Ellie Christie was travelling from Prestonpans into Edinburgh on the 7.55am service last Tuesday.

She said: “Usually, the train is pretty busy in the morning but last Tuesday it was extra busy. I don’t know if there were just fewer carriages but you could not move. It was packed and when the doors closed you were squeezed in.

“I remember being on the train and it was pulling into Edinburgh and it was getting hotter and hotter by the minute.

“It was so busy and I started feeling a bit queasy and I was feeling claustrophobic. The next thing I knew I was waking up with people all around me.”

Ellie, who lives in Port Seton, regularly takes the train into her work at the University of Edinburgh.

The marketing apprentice remembered hearing people shouting to ask if there was a doctor on board the train.

Train conductors then sat with her and gave her a cup of water. Ellie, 18, said they were “really, really nice guys, helpful and genuinely concerned”.

After phoning her work, the former Preston Lodge High School pupil was told to take the day off and returned home on the 9.45am train.

She said: “I cannot remember the last time I got on a train when I was not standing up. Last Wednesday, on the train home, half the people on the platform did not get on.”

Problems with overcrowding on peak-time trains travelling to and from East Lothian have been regularly highlighted in recent months.

On a number of occasions, passengers have been left on the platform at Musselburgh due to trains being too busy for them to board.

Ellie added: “On the train, it was just like sardines in a tin. I’ve got to the point now where I take my jacket off before I get on the train because of the heat.”

A spokesman for ScotRail confirmed that staff assisted Ellie and ensured she received help.

He said: “We were made aware of the incident and our staff assisted the customer, who was then taken into the care of Network Rail station staff.”

Earlier this month, ScotRail apologised for its “unacceptable” recent service and offered compensation.

The spokesman added: “We are working flat out to train conductors and drivers on Scotland’s railway so that we can return services to normal.

“Since December 9 we have trained 70 drivers and conductors, so we have made progress, but we know we need to do more. We are training more than 20 drivers and conductors every day throughout January and February to return your service to levels you deserve. We have seen the level of cancellations reduce steadily over the last few weeks.

“We will continue to cut cancellations to improve your service.

“We expect week on week improvement through January and February to get your service back to normal levels.”