Retrenchment during the Twentieth Century saw passenger services withdrawn from the Gullane and Haddington branch lines on 12 September 1932 and 5 December 1949 respectively.

The former goods yard site was redeveloped as the new station car park, while the waiting rooms and canopy on the Down platform were removed in the late 1960s and replaced with bus-stop type shelters.

Closure of the North Berwick branch and of Drem, Longniddry and Prestonpans stations was proposed in 1969, but not approved by the Minister of Transport.

Nonetheless, stopping passenger services were drastically reduced from 1970, and their future was again in doubt following the publication of the Serpell Report in 1982.

It was located on the trackside some 160 yards (150 m) west of the station, and mailbags previously loaded on the device's arm could be captured at speed by a matching mechanism on passing southbound express trains which therefore did not need to stop.