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Plans to reduce CrossCountry train services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh have been scrapped.

Proposed timetable changes could have seen four of six services being cut.

However, CrossCountry said there would now be no changes to timetables from this December, and that further discussion would take place on the future of the services.

It followed discussions with the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland.

A CrossCountry spokesman said: "Last year CrossCountry consulted widely on possible changes to its timetables from December 2017.

"These included the option of changing the number of CrossCountry services north of Edinburgh to and from north east Scotland, allowing the local train operator ScotRail to provide these.

"After discussions between the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland, it became clear that ScotRail would be unable to replicate these services at this time, so it was agreed there would be no changes to CrossCountry's Scottish timetables from this December and further discussion would take place to agree the future of these services."