East Midlands Railway

(Redirected from Luton Express)

East Midlands Railway (EMR; legally Transport UK East Midlands Limited[3]) is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.

East Midlands Railway
Class 222 at Nottingham in EMR Intercity livery
Overview
Franchise(s)
  • East Midlands
  • 18 August 2019 – 16 October 2030[2]
Main region(s)
Other region(s)
Fleet size
Stations called at140
Parent companyTransport UK Group
Reporting markEM[1]
PredecessorEast Midlands Trains
Other
Websitewww.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Originally owned by Abellio, EMR took over operations from East Midlands Trains (EMT) on 18 August 2019, on an agreement to run the franchise for eight years. As part of the franchise commitments, EMR placed an order for 33 new bi-mode Class 810 Aurora high speed train sets, and sourced over 40 pre-existing Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple units from other operators.

During early 2020, passenger numbers and ticket revenues collapsed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the original franchise agreement being initially suspended before being replaced entirely. Under the new National Rail Contract signed in 2022, the franchise is to last until October 2030. In February 2023, Transport UK Group concluded a management buyout of Abellio's United Kingdom business, which included EMR.

History

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Background

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In March 2017, the Department for Transport announced that Arriva, a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia, and incumbent Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the next East Midlands franchise.[4][5][6] Abellio was also shortlisted for the franchise during February 2018.[7]

In April 2018, FirstGroup and Trenitalia pulled out of the bidding process, their stated reason for doing so being to focus on the West Coast Partnership franchise.[8][9] During April 2019, it was announced that the franchise has been awarded to Abellio, with East Midlands Railway (EMR) to take over the franchise from East Midlands Trains (EMT) on 18 August 2019 for a period of eight years;[10] rival bidder Stagecoach had been disqualified from the process because its submission failed to meet employee pension obligations.[11][12]

In June 2019, Abellio revealed its branding and colour scheme for EMR, which featured distinct purple and white colours that reflected the heritage of the East Midlands. The company also confirmed that it would divide the franchise's services into three segments:[13]

  • EMR Intercity for long-distance services from London St Pancras
  • EMR Regional for services across the East Midlands
  • EMR Electrics for the outer suburban London St Pancras to Corby service

EMR Electrics was later rebranded as EMR Connect following an announcement in April 2021.[14]

Covid-19 and franchise suspension

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Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and a resulting collapse in both passenger numbers and ticket revenues in March 2020, the franchise agreement was suspended and replaced by an Emergency Measure Agreement for six months under which the Department for Transport assumed responsibility for all revenues and costs and EMR was instead paid a management fee.[15] This arrangement was superseded by an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA) under which the original franchise agreement was terminated. At the time, it was announced that the EMR franchise would operate until March 2022.[16][17]

In October 2021, the DfT issued an updated prior information notice that confirmed that the ERMA period would be extended until 16 October 2022.[18] During October 2022, it was announced that EMR had received a direct award of a four-year National Rail Contract, the terms of which included the option of extending it for a further period of up to four years.[2]

Industrial action and ownership change

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EMR was one of several train operators impacted by the 2022-2023 United Kingdom railway strikes, which was the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades.[19] Its workers were amongst those who participated in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions.[20] On multiple occasions, EMR has requested that the travelling public avoid using its services on certain dates due to these strikes.[21][22]

During February 2023, Transport UK Group concluded a management buyout of Abellio's United Kingdom business, which included EMR.[23][24]

Services

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Route map of the East Midlands Railway network
 
A vector map of EMR Intercity and EMR Connect services

EMR operates commuter services from London St Pancras to Corby, as well as Intercity services from London St Pancras along the Midland Main Line to Nottingham and Sheffield with limited extensions to Lincoln. EMR also operate the local East Midlands services and inter regional services to Liverpool and Norwich (Express service). Services from Nottingham to Liverpool Lime Street were to transfer to another operator during the life of the franchise,[25] although following a review by the DfT, this will no longer take place; the service instead being split at Nottingham as intended but remaining with EMR.[26] The Barton line was expected to transfer from Northern in 2019 but this was delayed until May 2021.[27][28]

On 19 June 2021, EMR Regional services were cut to enable the timetable to run effectively.[29] Although EMR stated that 85% of services were still running, there was still an impact to local commuter services.[30]

Contactless payment cards can be used between London St Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway.[31]

Over the course of the franchise, several planned timetable changes are to be made:[25]

  • earlier and later trains between Sheffield and Nottingham to East Midlands Parkway
  • earlier and later trains between Sheffield and London St Pancras and more regular evening service to London St Pancras
  • two trains per hour between Nottingham and Kettering
  • two trains per hour between Corby and London St Pancras
  • regular Sunday service between Corby and London St Pancras
  • Liverpool to Norwich split at Nottingham
  • Norwich to Nottingham extended to Derby
  • regular hourly Sunday service between Norwich and Derby
  • Crewe to Derby service extended to Nottingham and hourly service on Sundays
  • hourly Sunday service between Matlock and Nottingham
  • hourly service between Nottingham and Grimsby Town with limited extension to Cleethorpes
  • hourly Sunday service between Lincoln and Grimsby Town
  • hourly service between Nottingham and Newark Castle
  • hourly Sunday service between Worksop and Nottingham and later evening services on weekdays
  • additional peak services between Nottingham and Grantham
  • earlier and later trains between Nottingham and Boston
  • later evening service on weekdays and a new Sunday service
  • hourly through service between Doncaster and Peterborough via Lincoln
  • new Sunday service between Doncaster and Lincoln
  • enhanced Sunday service on Barton to Cleethorpes route
  • two trains per day between Lincoln and London St Pancras
  • Newark Northgate to Grimsby Town service cut back to Lincoln except to for the limited extension to Cleethorpes and timed to run with LNER's London King's Cross – Lincoln service

As of December 2023, East Midlands Railway's regular off-peak services Monday-Friday include:[32]

EMR Intercity

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Route tph Calling at
London St Pancras InternationalNottingham 2
London St Pancras InternationalSheffield 2

EMR Regional

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EMR Regional is a brand used on regional routes, most of which terminate at or pass through Nottingham, including services from Norwich to Liverpool Lime Street and from Crewe to Newark Castle.

They run a mixture of Class 158s and 170s with 158s normally confined to the Norwich to Liverpool stretch.[33] EMR introduced Class 170s to replace the 153s and 156s which have since been withdrawn,[34] and initially the 158s, which will now be kept for the foreseeable future and are planned for refurbishment along with the 170s.[35][36][37][38][39]

The Norwich to Liverpool service was initially planned to terminate at Nottingham with the stretch to Liverpool Lime Street taken over during the franchise by another operator, likely TransPennine Express.[26] However, this is no longer taking place.

Derwent Valley line
Route tph Calling at
NottinghamMatlock 1
Crewe–Derby line
Route tph Calling at
CreweNewark Castle 1
Castle line
Route tph Calling at
LeicesterLincoln 12
LeicesterGrimsby Town 12
Newark NorthgateLincoln 5tpd
Nottingham–Grantham and Poacher lines
Route tph Calling at
NottinghamSkegness 1
Robin Hood Line
Route tph Calling at
NottinghamWorksop 1
Peterborough to Doncaster via Doncaster–Lincoln line
Route tph Calling at
PeterboroughLincoln 1
PeterboroughDoncaster 12
Liverpool to Norwich
Route tph Calling at
Liverpool Lime StreetNorwich 1
  • Two trains Norwich-bound start from Nottingham
  • An additional unit is often coupled west of Nottingham
Barton line
Route tph Calling at
Barton-on-HumberCleethorpes 12

EMR Connect / Luton Airport Express

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EMR Connect
Luton Airport Express
 
An EMR Connect Class 360 departing Bedford seen in March 2024
Overview
Locale
Current operator(s)East Midlands Railway, 17 May 2021 – 16 October 2030
Websitehttps://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/our-fleet/connect
Route
Termini
Train number(s)EM
Line(s) used
Technical
Rolling stock21 Class 360s
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification
Track owner(s)Network Rail

EMR Connect is a commuter service linking Corby with St Pancras. The service began in May 2021 using Class 360s formerly used by Greater Anglia following the electrification of the Midland Main Line from Bedford to Kettering and Corby in 2020.[40] It was initially planned to be known as EMR Electrics until just before its launch date in April 2021.

In March 2023, the Luton DART, an automated guided people mover, opened between Luton Airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station.[41] From then on, EMR simultaneously brands EMR Connect as the airport rail link Luton Airport Express since the services are non stop from St Pancras to Luton Airport Parkway, with a headline figure of 32 minutes from London St Pancras to the airport terminal using the Luton DART, the cost of which is included in the train ticket price.[42][43]

Route tph Calling at
London St Pancras InternationalCorby 2

Rolling stock

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East Midlands Railway inherited a fleet of 28 Class 43, 21 Class 153, 15 Class 156, 26 Class 158, and 27 Class 222 units from East Midlands Trains. In January 2020, nine additional Class 156 units from Greater Anglia were introduced into service. Nine 8-carriage InterCity 125 sets were also transferred from London North Eastern Railway, with the first set having entered service on 4 May 2020. They were replaced in May 2021.[44] To replace the former Grand Central “buffered” HST sets, EMR commenced a lease of the four former Hull Trains Class 180 fleet despite their history of technical difficulties, with the first units entering service on 13 December 2020.[45][46] On 16 May 2021, East Midlands Railway launched EMR Connect services between Corby and London St Pancras, which has enabled the final HSTs to be withdrawn.[47] The Connect service is operated by ex-Greater Anglia Class 360s.[48][49]

By 2023, East Midlands Railway planned to run EMR Regional services using 40 Class 170 units (in fact, they have 43 170s so far), and by 2024 plans to run EMR Intercity services using 33 new bi-mode Class 810 Aurora units.[50]

The final Class 170s from West Midlands Trains were delivered in May 2023.[51] The last Class 170 from Transport for Wales was transferred on 28 January 2024.[52] EMR also has 170s acquired from ScotRail and Southern; the latter were converted back to 170s from previously converted 171s by reinstating their original type of couplers.

The company is refurbishing the stock used for its regional services.[53][36][37][38][54]

Current fleet

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Family Class Image Type Top Speed Number Carriages Routes operated Built
mph km/h
EMR Intercity
Bombardier Voyager 222 Meridian   DEMU 125 200 23[55] 5
  • Intercity routes
2003–2005
4[55] 7
  
EMR Connect / Luton Airport Express
Siemens Desiro 360 Desiro   EMU 110 180 21[56] 4
  • Connect route
2002–2003
 
EMR Regional
Sprinter 158 Express Sprinter

 

DMU 90 145 26[56] 2
  • Regional routes (mostly Liverpool to Norwich services) [57]
1989–1992
 
Bombardier Turbostar 170 Turbostar   100 161 27[56] 2
  • Regional routes
1999–2002
16[58] 3
 
 

Future fleet

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To replace the Class 222 units, 33 five-carriage Class 810 bi-mode trains will be introduced in early 2025 to make use of the newly electrified Midland Main Line.[59][60] The Class 810 is an evolution of the Class 802 units that Hitachi have delivered to a number of British train operators;[61] amongst other changes, it has a reduced car length as to better facilitate its use of stations such as St Pancras and is fitted with uprated diesel engines that enable the Class 810 to equal, if not exceed, the acceleration of the Class 222.[50] During May 2020, EMR opened a competition to give the class their own unique brand name.[62] In October 2020, EMR announced that the fleet will have the 'Aurora' brand.[63] The earlier-than-planned withdrawal of the Class 180 fleet, now occurring at the May 2023 timetable change, means that 'Aurora' units will only directly replace the Class 222 fleet.[64]

Family Class Image Type Top Speed Number Carriages Routes operated In service
mph km/h
EMR Intercity
Hitachi AT300 810 Aurora   BMU 125 200 33[65] 5 Early 2025[66]

Past fleet

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The last of the InterCity 125 sets East Midlands Railway inherited from East Midlands Trains were withdrawn in December 2020, having been replaced by five ex LNER InterCity 125 sets which had greater compliance with new regulations and four Class 180s.[67] Originally nine former LNER sets were to replace a similar number of sets inherited from East Midlands Trains. However, after the carriages were found to require more repairs than originally envisaged, this was cut back to five sets.[68]

In December 2021, the final Class 153s were withdrawn, as they were not PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) compliant, with Class 156s replacing them on the Barton line from 13 December.[69][70] These units were placed into storage at Long Marston and Ely Papworth Sidings in December 2021.[71]

In December 2022, four Class 156 units went off lease and were sent for storage at Barrow Hill, with East Midlands Railway stating that they will be moved to Ely Papworth sidings at a later date.[72]

East Midlands Railway withdrew the last of its Class 156 fleet and its entire 180 fleet in May 2023.[51]

Class Family Image Type Top Speed Number Carriages Routes operated Withdrawn
mph km/h
EMR Intercity
43 (HST) InterCity 125   Loco 125 200 24 N/A 2020
  6[73]
  23 2020–2021
Mark 3   Coach 94[74] 2020
  78[75] 2020–2021
180 Adelante Alstom Coradia   DHMU 125 200 4[60] 5 2023[51]
EMR Regional
153 Super Sprinter   DMU 75 120 21[74][76] 1
  • Regional routes
2019–2021
156
 
24[77] 2 2021-2023

Depots

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EMR operates two depots: Derby Etches Park and Nottingham Eastcroft.[78] The Class 360s are maintained at Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot by Siemens Mobility.[79]

Controversy

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East Midlands Railway was investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority, who in September 2021 found that they had breached marketing codes. The firm had launched a competition in February 2021 asking participants for ideas to "Build Back Better" with the chance of winning £5,000. However, the competition was closed and the prize not awarded; East Midlands Railway stated that this was due to financial concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as well as due to the low quality of entries received.[80][81]

References

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  1. ^ "National Rail Enquiries - East Midlands Railway". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "East Midlands Railway signs National Rail Contract". London: Abellio East Midlands. 6 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  3. ^ "TRANSPORT UK EAST MIDLANDS LIMITED". Companies House. HM Government. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Three bidders shortlisted for 2019 East Midlands franchise". Rail Technology Magazine. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Three prequalify for next East Midlands franchise". Railway Gazette International. 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Rail Franchise Schedule" (PDF). UK Department of Transport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Abellio joins East Midlands franchise shortlist". Railway Gazette International. 6 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018.
  8. ^ "First Group and Trenitalia pull out of East Midlands franchise contest". International Railway Journal. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019.
  9. ^ "First Group-Trenitalia JV pulls out of East Midlands franchise bidding". Global Rail News. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  10. ^ "More seats, services and state-of-the-art trains for passengers on new East Midlands railway". Department for Transport. 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019.
  11. ^ "East Midlands, South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchise updates". Department for Transport. 10 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Liverpool-Norwich service to be split". Modern Railways. No. 838. July 2018. p. 14.
  13. ^ Pegden, Tom (21 June 2019). "How Midland Mainline trains will soon look". Leicester Mercury. Reach plc. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  14. ^ "New train timetable from Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough revealed for May electric revolution". Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Covid-19: government suspends rail franchise agreements". The Guardian. 23 March 2020.
  16. ^ "UK government announces the end of rail franchising". Railway Gazette International. 21 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Transitional ERMAs pave the way to management contracts". Modern Railways. 23 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Prior information notice (PIN) for direct award of East Midlands Railway contract (corrigendum)" (PDF). Department for Transport. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Rail strike: RMT union votes for national action". BBC News. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  20. ^ Finnis, Alex (20 June 2022). "The dates of the train, Tube and bus strikes this week, and how services will be affected". i. London: Daily Mail and General Trust. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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  28. ^ "May Milestone for MML Timetable". Modern Railways. No. 872. May 2021. p. 23.
  29. ^ "Amended Timetable across EMR Regional routes | EMR | East Midlands Railway". www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk.
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  31. ^ "nationalrail.co.uk" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  32. ^ "Timetables". London: East Midlands Railway. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  33. ^ "Accessibility of our trains | EMR". East Midlands Railway. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
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  37. ^ a b "£60m revamp for EMR 'Regional' and 'Connect' trains". pocketmags.com. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
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  39. ^ Weaver, Stephanie (20 March 2024). "EMR finally announces start of £60 million project to revamp regional fleet. The refurbishment promised several years ago is finally happening". Northamptonshire Telegraph.
  40. ^ "East Midlands Railway launch all-electric train service from Corby to London". ITV. ITV. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  41. ^ "Luton Dart airport shuttle welcomes first passengers". BBC News. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  42. ^ "Luton Airport Express". East Midlands Railway. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  43. ^ "Luton airport Dart rail shuttle finally set to open – at a price". The Independent. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023. A newly branded Luton Airport Express train from London St Pancras will run nonstop every half-hour with a journey time of just 22 minutes.
  44. ^ White, Cameron (13 December 2020). "WATCH: Final East Midlands Railway VP185 Class 43 locomotive at Chesterfield". Rail Advent. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  45. ^ Clinnick, Richard. "Cascaded LNER HSTs to plug the gap in East Midlands fleet". Rail. Peterborough: Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
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  52. ^ "Unit Focus (Class 170)". Railways Illustrated. No. 254. April 2024. p. 23.
  53. ^ "The Big Regional Refurb: EMR announce start of £60 million project to revamp regional fleet". East Midlands Railway. EMR. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  54. ^ Weaver, Stephanie (20 March 2024). "EMR finally announces start of £60 million project to revamp regional fleet. The refurbishment promised several years ago is finally happening". Northamptonshire Telegraph.
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  64. ^ "EMR confirms withdrawal of Class 180s". Modern Railways. No. 895. Stamford: Key Publishing. March 2023. p. 11.
  65. ^ Pritchard, Robert, ed. (September 2019). "Hitachi Scoops Order for East Midlands". Today's Railways UK. No. 213. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 6. ISSN 1475-9713.
  66. ^ "East Midlands Railway reveals the interior look of its new Aurora train fleet". Railways Illustrated. No. 254. April 2024. p. 7.
  67. ^ "Double Paxman Demise". Modern Railways. No. 868. January 2021. p. 50.
  68. ^ "Ex LNER 43 moved to Barrow Hill". Rail Magazine. No. 917. 4 November 2020. p. 31.
  69. ^ "EMR introduce Class 156 fleet and own traincrew on Barton-on-Humber route". www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  70. ^ "East Midlands Railway introduces Class 156 trains on Barton-on-Humber route". RailAdvent. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  71. ^ Russell, David (February 2022). "Northern and East Midlands Railway Class 153 fleets stood down". Units. Rail Express. No. 309. p. 26.
  72. ^ East Midlands Railway (20 December 2022). "They will be moving to Ely Papworth ^PB". Twitter. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  73. ^ Coward, Andy, ed. (2021). InterCity 125 High-Speed Tribute. Tempest. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-1-9116-3940-4.
  74. ^ a b "REVEALED: Every single heavy rail vehicle granted disability dispensation by DfT". Rail Magazine. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  75. ^ "Cascaded LNER HSTs to plug the gap in East Midlands fleet". Rail Magazine. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  76. ^ "East Midlands Railway plans spring 2020 start for Class 170s". Rail Magazine. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  77. ^ Russell, David (December 2022). "Class 156 'Super Sprinter'". Units. Rail Express. No. 319. p. 27.
  78. ^ "A New Era for the East Midlands as Abellio starts its fifth franchise". Today's Railways UK. No. 214. October 2019. pp. 24–26.
  79. ^ "EMR Looks To 2020 Timetable Change". Modern Railways. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  80. ^ Holden, Michael (22 September 2021). "East Midlands Railway says "poor quality entries" resulted in cancellation of competition, but breached ASA rules". RailAdvent. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  81. ^ "ASA Ruling on Abellio East Midlands Ltd t/a East Midlands Railway". Advertising Standards Authority. 22 September 2021.
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Preceded by Operator of East Midlands franchise
2019–2030
Succeeded by
Incumbent