Members of Dunbar Community Council have expressed their confusion that ScotRail’s ‘Kids for a Quid’ scheme does not cover journeys between Edinburgh Waverley and Dunbar – and have called on the train operator to be clearer as to why.

ScotRail’s Kids for a Quid scheme offers a ticket for up to four children aged five to 15 for £1 when purchased alongside a paying adult ticket at off-peak times.

However, this offer is not available between Dunbar and Edinburgh.

The route from Dunbar to Edinburgh is used by a number of train services including ScotRail, LNER, CrossCountry and Transpennine Express.

ScotRail says the route is owned by LNER, which set the pricing structure for that journey for all train services including ScotRail, and therefore it cannot offer the deal on this journey.

However, customers in Dunbar can still take advantage of the Kids for a Quid offer between Dunbar and any other station in Scotland, meaning that if they buy a ticket to a station beyond Edinburgh, such as Linlithgow, then they can use the offer.

Jacquie Bell, Dunbar Community Council secretary, said: “It is very confusing and it’s not made clear enough on the offer that it is not available between Dunbar and Edinburgh because it’s just listed in the small print.

“I had been in contact with ScotRail about it and they told me that because LNER own the route that they can’t offer the deal on their services because they can’t put a ScotRail-only product on a flow they do not own, even if some ScotRail services operate on that flow.

“I just find it frustrating that if you buy a ticket to any other station in Scotland, that you can use the Kids for a Quid offer.

“I think it needs to be made clearer so that people don’t get confused by it.”

Lesley Kane, ScotRail commercial director, said: “Our Kids for a Quid offer has always been really popular as it allows families to get out and about for less.

“There’s more than 350 ScotRail stations that our customers in Dunbar can travel to and take advantage of this great offer.”