East Lothian Council has welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Government that rail services in the area will be significantly improved in 2010.

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has announced that new services between Edinburgh and Dunbar will be introduced from the start of the winter timetable next year and a study undertaken to look at a new hourly service to and from Dunbar.

The Council's Transport Spokesman Councillor Barry Turner said: "We welcome the news that from December 2010, ScotRail will assume control of the 06.30 Dunbar to Edinburgh Monday to Friday commuter service, and the 22.50 Edinburgh to Dunbar Friday service. A new late evening Edinburgh to Dunbar service on Monday to Thursday is also planned, subject to necessary timetabling processes.

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"A study into the benefits of an hourly Dunbar to Edinburgh service will be undertaken with ScotRail in the near future. This service is a key transport priority for the Council. The feasibility study will also consider services from Edinburgh to Newcastle, Edinburgh to Berwick and the possibility of new stations at East Linton and Reston. The study is expected to take no more than a year to complete."

The Transport Minister said: "These new services will mean more people will have the opportunity to make the switch to public transport. We are working hard to ensure communities along the east coast and across Scotland can benefit from access to the rail network and are investing significantly in extending services - both in terms of expanding infrastructure and plugging gaps in the timetable.

"We are determined to identify what further improvements can be provided, and have secured the option to enable ScotRail to operate these additional services during the week."

(GK/KMcA)