DOZENS of East Lothian commuters were turned away from a rush-hour train to Edinburgh this morning because it was too full.
The cancellation of the 08.05 service from Prestonpans meant that the following train was extremely crowded.
By the time it reached Musselburgh at 08.22, the train had become so full that many commuters were unable to get on board.
READ MORE: East Lothian railway line 'at breaking point'
Passengers took to social media to express their anger, calling the situation at the station "mayhem".
Why was the 8:05 at Prestonpans cancelled? Made it impossible to get on the 8:15am lots of commuters left at Musselburgh station @ScotRail
— fay meharry (@fmeharry) October 5, 2016
READ MORE: 'No short-term solution' as passengers turned away
ScotRail said that the 08.05 train had been cancelled as a result of a fault with the train in front and apologised.
Today's incident is not the first time commuters have been turned away from the 08.22 Musselburgh train, as this has happened on several occasions over the past year due to overcrowded trains.
Commuters and local councillors have repeatedly called for something to be done about the problem.
READ MORE: Councillor warns of 'calamity' if train service not improved
However, at a recent meeting in Prestonpans about the issue, ScotRail managing director Phil Verster said that ScotRail did not at present have the trains to be able to ease the pressure on East Lothian services.
This week, Transport Scotland announced plans to put passenger counting equipment on trains.
READ MORE: Plans to put passenger counting equipment on trains criticised
The Scottish Government agency said it was investing £3.13million on the rail services in a bid to improve "day-to-day passenger experience".
However, the move was criticised by some, who said the money would be better spent improving the services in the county.
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