BOOKING office hours at Dunbar Railway Station could be slashed under new proposals.

Opening hours of the office at the station, which links the county with the north of England as well as Edinburgh, could be reduced by nearly 20 hours per week.

The idea is being weighed up by ScotRail, which operates more than 2,000 train services through 359 stations throughout Scotland.

Fewer than 150 stations have staffed ticket offices, with Dunbar making up part of that number.

The move has been criticised by rail union RMT and the county’s MP Kenny MacAskill and MSP Paul McLennan.

RMT is “wholly opposed” to cuts to ticket offices and believes that these will deter passengers from the rail network and make it less accessible for disabled and elderly passengers.

They claim that cuts to ticket office hours worsen passenger service, safety and security by reducing the times that staff are guaranteed to be present at stations and make it far easier for operators to reduce overall staffing levels in the future.

Mick Lynch, general secretary, said: “Cuts to ticket office hours will do nothing to restore passenger confidence in Scotland’s sustainable rail network, which has a central role to play in delivering modal shift away from high-carbon transport.

“These proposals affect nearly all of the ticket offices in Scotland and will undoubtedly worsen passenger service and accessibility, as well as turning many of our stations into a mugger’s paradise.”

Mr MacAskill backed the RMT in opposing the reduction in hours.

Currently, the booking office – the only one of its kind in East Lothian – is open from 5.55am to 9.30pm from Monday to Friday.

The proposed changes would see the office open at 6.10am and shut at 7.15pm with the exception of Friday, when it would close 45 minutes earlier.

Changes would also be introduced on a Saturday and Sunday.

The booking office opens at 6.25am on a Saturday and shuts at 8.40pm, with opening hours of 11.15am to 9.30pm on a Sunday. The changes would mean a 7am opening on Saturday, with a closure of 6pm, while Sunday would retain its opening time but shut at 6.30pm.

Mr MacAskill said: “As a regular user of the station, I share the views of RMT.

“It’s a retrograde step.

“The staff are helpful and essential, even if I’m often just picking up tickets from a machine.

“It’s only Dunbar as others are unmanned but it’s a major station for the county.”

Paul McLennan, who is East Lothian’s MSP as well as a councillor for the Dunbar and East Linton ward, encouraged people to take part in the consultation.

He said: “Dunbar residents have less than three weeks to make their views known on the proposed changes to the ticket office opening times.

“The changes to opening times at the weekends are the most significant and will likely impact residents who travel to Edinburgh from Dunbar socially in the evening.

“Last year, the community response from Dunbar residents was a driving force in the delaying of the proposed changes to rail services in East Lothian as part of the new East Coast Mainline timetable.”

ScotRail offered a breakdown on how people purchased their tickets.

More than 350 ticket vending machines have been installed across the country, with more than a quarter of all ticket sales coming through the machines.

Internet access also accounts for about 18 per cent, with the number of people using ticket offices dropping from 40 per cent in 2011 to 28 per cent in 2019.

According to ScotRail, the proposed changes would impact on 120 stations across the country.

A spokesperson said: “Some locations may see minor changes whilst other locations may see reduced opening hours to align with customer usage. No staff will lose their jobs and will instead be redeployed to provide enhanced customer service on the frontline.”

The consultation, which can be found at scotrail.co.uk/scotrail-ticket-office-consultation, closes on February 2.