NEARLY four times as many people are using the county’s railway stations compared to a year ago as East Lothian bounces back from the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 1.3 million entries and exits at the county’s seven railway stations were recorded between April 2021 and March 2022. In comparison, just over 342,000 journeys took place over the same period between April 2020 and March 2021.

The increase in rail passengers was highlighted at each of the stations across the county.

The largest jump came at Longniddry, which saw an increase of 431 per cent on the previous 12 months. It was a similar story at Drem, where the number of people using the service soared by 335 per cent.

Elsewhere, Wallyford (316 per cent), North Berwick (299 per cent), Dunbar (281 per cent), Prestonpans (281 per cent) and Musselburgh (207 per cent) all showed sizeable increases.

However, the figures are still some way short of those recorded from April 2019 to March 2020.

Still below pre-pandemic figures

The most recent 2021/22 figures show that the number of people using each of the county stations is still at least 40 per cent below the last pre-pandemic figures in 2019/20.

Wallyford (-52 per cent) and Prestonpans (-51 per cent) showed the biggest reductions.

Meanwhile, Dunbar (-47 per cent), Longniddry (-44 per cent), Musselburgh (-42 per cent), and Drem and North Berwick (-41 per cent) were not far behind.

Across Scotland, Glasgow Central (15.3 million) was the most used station, followed by Edinburgh Waverley (13.6 million) and Glasgow Queen Street (8.5 million).

Feras Alshaker, director of planning and performance at the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), said: “It is heartening to see passengers return to travelling by rail following what was a difficult period for the industry during the pandemic.

“There’s still some way to go in order for station usage figures to return to pre-pandemic levels. Once again, it is important to thank all those in the rail industry, who continue to work hard to help people travel safely and with confidence.”

Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council cabinet spokesperson for environment, economic development and tourism, welcomed the figures.

He said: “The fact that more people are travelling on public transport again since pandemic restrictions were lifted is good news for businesses.

“We know visitors are coming back and it’s been wonderful to welcome full capacity events once again this year such as the Genesis Scottish Open and AIG Women’s Open Golf tournaments, Fringe by the Sea and the Lammermuir Festival to name but a few. I’m sure when the travel figures for 2022-23 are available, they’ll show another welcome increase.

“The council and its partners will continue to do what we can to promote East Lothian as a wonderful destination for day trips and longer breaks.”

Station entries and exits:

  • Drem – 104,798 (2019/20); 14,130 (2020/21); 61,428 (2021/22)
  • Dunbar – 473,884 (2019/20); 66,300 (202/21); 252,308 (2021/22)
  • Longniddry – 174,738 (2019/20); 18,284 (2020/21); 97,130 (2021/22)
  • Musselburgh – 460,918 (2019/20); 86,958 (2020/21); 266,928 (2021/22)
  • North Berwick – 587,294 (2019/20); 86,264 (2020/21); 344,414 (2021/22)
  • Prestonpans – 260,190 (2019/20); 33,770 (2020/21); 128,558 (2021/22)
  • Wallyford – 314,138 (2019/20); 36,444 (2021/22); 151,702 (2021/22)