A TEMPORARY timetable has been introduced on Scotland’s railways “to provide greater certainty and reliability for customers” – resulting in the Dunbar-Edinburgh service being reduced to a single ScotRail train each way daily.

Staff shortages have led to the cancellation of a number of trains connecting East Lothian to Edinburgh recently.

From yesterday (Wednesday), ScotRail has introduced a temporary timetable as a result of the ongoing impact of fewer train drivers than normal currently being available for overtime or rest day working following confirmation from drivers’ union ASLEF that it will recommend to its executive committee a ballot for industrial action over pay.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “We are very sorry to customers for the disruption to services. We know that customers want certainty and reliability, which is why we are introducing a temporary timetable, in place of late-notice cancellations.

“We are operating services which the vast majority of customers use. We want to resolve the pay dispute with the trade unions and remain fully committed to further discussions.

“We’re asking customers to check their journey on our website or mobile app, as train times will have changed.”

The change means the only ScotRail services on the Dunbar-Edinburgh line are the 6.51am Dunbar to Edinburgh and the 8.18am Edinburgh to Dunbar – although other operators are still running trains on the line daily On the North Berwick-Edinburgh line, the first trains are now the 6.39am North Berwick to Edinburgh and 7.10am Edinburgh to North Berwick.

There is a morning peak service of: three trains per hour from Prestonpans and North Berwick to Edinburgh.

The core daytime service is one train per hour between North Berwick and Edinburgh, while there is an evening peak service of two trains per hour from Edinburgh to North Berwick, and an evening service of one train every one or two hours between the stations. The last trains are at 10.28pm from North Berwick to Edinburgh, and 11.14pm from Edinburgh to North Berwick.

The temporary timetable is available at scotrail.co.uk/temporary-timetable-0