A Fife teenager was twice threatened with being removed from an inter-city train in a row over the use of his forces railcard.
Nathan Pike, 14, of Leuchars, was visiting his father Steve in Newcastle last Friday but was threatened with being put off the train either side of Edinburgh.
Now his mother is demanding assurances from the East Coast train company that no other child will be treated in this way.
Third year Madras College pupil Nathan, who has a Forces Dependant’s rail card due to his father being in the RAF at Leeming, was travelling alone by train, as he does every fortnight from Leuchars, at 4.22pm.
Nathan normally buys his ticket from the station office. However, last Friday, as it was shut, Nathan’s mum Nicola Murray gave him £15 to buy his discounted £12.05 ticket on the train.
When the guard approached Nathan, he said he could not use his discount on the train so he would have to pay the full single child fare of £31.50 for a Leuchars to Newcastle ticket.
When Nathan told the guard he only had £15, the guard said that would get him to Edinburgh and he would have to get off the train there.
As the train hurtled through Inverkeithing, the teenager phoned his mum by mobile to let her know the situation.
She asked if he would find the guard and let her speak to him.
However, the guard said he was too busy and would not speak.
Nicola told The Courier: “Nathan, although being very tall for his age, is still only 14 years old and was feeling a bit stressed at the thought of being thrown off the train an hour from home and two hours from his dad’s.
“Some very nice lady called Yvonne Ritchie, from Edinburgh, gave Nathan £16 to make up his fare to the £31 the guard had asked for.
“Upon arrival in Edinburgh the guard left the train to be replaced by a new one.
“We later found out from the new guard, on arrival in Newcastle, that the first guard had told the new guard that Nathan did not have a ticket so he could throw him off the train.
“The guard then approached Nathan to ask him to leave, to which Nathan told him he now had the money for a single ticket to get him to Newcastle.
“The guard then asked for £31.50 so again Nathan was short of funds and this guard then also insisted he get off the train as he did not have the correct fare.
“Some other kind person gave him 50p so he did get to Newcastle. Surely it is wrong to throw a child off a train so far from home?”
An East Coast spokesman said: “We thank The Courier for bringing this to our attention. Up until a couple of minutes before Nathan’s train departed from Leuchars station, the station travel centre was open.
“Fast ticket machines were also available on Leuchars station and able to sell a discounted fare using the Forces Dependant’s Railcard. Railcard discounts are not available for tickets purchased on board the train from the guard.
“Unfortunately, as Nathan chose to board the train without first buying a ticket, he found himself short of money for the non-discounted single fare to Newcastle.
“The circumstances of what occurred on the train are currently subject to an internal investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further until all of the facts have been fully established.”