NATIONAL Express has been accused of “mugging” rail passengers using the East Coast Main Line by charging for some seat reservations.

The move was branded outrageous by the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), which warned it could result in abuse against booking office staff.

The company will introduce a charge of £2.50 for reserving a single or £5 for a return ticket from Sunday on its East Coast franchise.

It comes at a time when National Express is reportedly trying to renegotiate its East Coast contract with the Government.

Booking clerks have warned bosses they expect regular abuse when they ask passengers for the extra money.

Union secretary Gerry Doherty said: ‘‘This is an outrageous imposition on millions of passengers.

“What National Express is now saying to passengers is that, if you want to be sure of sitting down on their trains for a return journey, then you will have to pay. That is simply mugging passengers for an extra fiver, and it will hit the elderly and families the hardest.”

National Express said a quarter of passengers buy the types of standard class ticket that would attract the reservation charge.

It stressed that it will be optional and will not apply to advance purchase tickets, first-class tickets, season tickets and assisted customers or disabled railcard holders.

A spokesman said: “We do find that people are often reserving multiple seats as they are not sure which train they are going to catch.

“Whilst we understand this, by asking people to pay for a seat reservation, seats will no longer be left empty with a reserved sign, therefore being made available for other customers to use.”

But Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, branded it as “another example of National Express bleeding passengers dry”.