| Info | |||
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| Franchise(s): | East Midlands 11 November 2007 – 1 April 2015 |
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| Main Region(s): | East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, East of England | ||
| Other Region(s): | London, North West | ||
| Fleet size: | 26 Class 43 HST power cars 17 Class 153 Super Sprinter sets 11 Class 156 Super Sprinter sets 25 Class 158 Express Sprinter sets 27 Class 222 Meridian sets |
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| Stations called at: | 87 | ||
| Stations operated: | 88 | ||
| Passenger km 2007/8: | 1597.9 million | ||
| Route km operated: | 1567.5 | ||
| National Rail abbreviation: | EM | ||
| Parent company: | Stagecoach Group | ||
| Web site: | eastmidlandstrains.co.uk | ||
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| East Midlands Trains InterCity services | |
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Legend
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East Midlands Trains (EMT) is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London. The franchise, which began 11 November 2007, was formed through the amalgamation of the former Midland Mainline and the eastern part of Central Trains franchises.
Originally legally known as Stagecoach Midland Rail Limited[1] the company was later renamed East Midlands Trains Ltd.[2] The parent company of East Midlands Trains is Stagecoach Group, which also owns South West Trains and 49% of the Virgin Trains franchise.[3] The company is led by Managing Director, Tim Shoveller who is soon to be replaced by David Horne, the current Commercial and Customer Service Director at EMT.[4]
Contents |
Prior to the launch of the franchise, the Department for Transport divided up the former routes of Central Trains: East Midlands Trains resulted from the letting of the East Midlands franchise.[5]
East Midlands Trains began operating from 11 November 2007.[6] EMT has taken over all the routes formerly operated by Midland Mainline and a few routes from Central Trains.
East Midlands Trains has been affected by the world recession, and in March 2009 announced its intention to reduce its staff numbers, following a similar announcement at South West Trains earlier in the year.[7]
East Midlands Trains initially divided its services between two sub-brands: Mainline InterCity services, and Connect urban and suburban services, which mainly came from the Central Trains franchise. However, from April 2008, the company dropped the "Mainline" and "Connect" branding in favour of "London" and "Local" services. It also has four broad routes for the areas in which it operates, except for the high-speed InterCity services, which all serve London.
EMT has promised better integration between "London" and "Local" services, together with increased punctuality and becoming more user-friendly.[8]
The new timetables indicate a reduction in off-peak departures at many smaller stations on London and Local routes, which has caused concern in affected communities; Kettering for example has had its northbound services halved.[9]
In several interviews, East Midlands Trains indicated that services would be speeded up, not denying that some stations would lose their current high frequency of trains off-peak. Various rail-user groups have expressed dissatisfaction with various proposals, particularly those affecting smaller stations.[10] Indeed, East Midlands Trains has been mentioned in Parliament several times due to customer dissatisfaction.
On 25 November 2008, Peter Bone (MP for Wellingborough) asked if the Secretary of State for Transport supports the "In the Can" campaign,[11] whereby sardines are sent to the Chief Executive to show dissatisfaction at perceived overcrowding.[12] Helen Southworth (then MP for Warrington South) also raised the overcrowding issue on the same day.[13]
Despite public statements claiming improved services,[14] peak-time services from St Pancras to Wellingborough between 16:30 and 18:00 have been reduced from seven to three, and an additional stop has been added to the 17:00, as well as reducing the train from eight cars to five. Furthermore, there is a severely restricted northbound evening peak service from the Luton stations with no services to Wellingborough, Kettering or stations north of Leicester (except a single service to Beeston, East Midlands Parkway and Nottingham) between 16:51 and 18:10.
Route-clearance trials have been carried out with Class 222 on routes from Nottingham to Liverpool, Lincoln and Norwich. Although East Midlands Trains has no current plans to use these units on Liverpool or Norwich services, except on Grand National weekend where a 7 car Class 222 is used between Liverpool and Nottingham only.
| Service Pattern | Destination | Calling At | Main Stock | Journey Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XX:00 | Corby | Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering | MER | 1h 10min |
| extension | to Melton Mowbray (one service north/south) | Oakham | MER | 1h 55min |
| extension | to Derby (one service north/south) | Oakham, Melton Mowbray, East Midlands Parkway | MER | 2h 10min |
| XX:15 | Nottingham | Market Harborough, Leicester, East Midlands Parkway | HST | 1h 44min |
| XX:25 | Sheffield | Luton, Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby, Chesterfield | MER | 2h 27min |
| extension | to York (weekends) / Scarborough (summer Saturdays) | Doncaster | MER | 3h 39min |
| XX:30 | Nottingham | Luton Airport Parkway, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Beeston | MER | 1h 56min |
| extension | to Lincoln (one service north/south) | Lowdham (Northbound only), Newark Castle, Collingham | MER | 2h 54min |
| XX:55 | Sheffield | Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield | MER | 2h 7min |
| extension | to Leeds (some peak services) | Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate | HST | 3h 10min |
Route 1 is the InterCity route on the Midland Main Line. The above table shows the service pattern from the December 2009 timetable change.[15]
The service pattern at the start of the franchise was of four off-peak departures from London: two fast (one to Sheffield and one to Nottingham), and two stopping (one to Derby and one to Nottingham). Sheffield peak-hour trains extended from and to Leeds, with weekend services also extending to York and Scarborough. One peak-hour Derby service was extended to Burton on Trent and one to Barnsley. EMT made no significant changes until the introduction of its December 2008 timetable.
From December 2008, EMT used the above service pattern (that shown in the box). There are five off-peak departures from London: two fast (one to Sheffield and one to Nottingham), one semi-fast (to Sheffield, extended from Derby from December 2009) and two stopping (one to Nottingham and one to Corby/Kettering). A smaller number of Sheffield peak-hour trains continue to extend from and to Leeds, with weekend services also extending to York and Scarborough. In addition a Nottingham service is extended to start from Lincoln, Monday to Saturday.[16] There were plans initially for two return services to Skegness through from London in the summer; however, these currently run through from Derby instead of London, because of speed restrictions around Boston. The Burton on Trent and Barnsley services ceased at the beginning of the December 2008 timetable, when Corby services began. One Corby service was extended to Melton Mowbray at the outset, and a second was added to Derby from May 2010.
| Route | Via | |
|---|---|---|
| Express/Stopping | Liverpool to Norwich/Nottingham | Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield, Nottingham, Peterborough & Ely |
Route 2 services cross England from east to west, and are former Central Citylink services. EMT sees this as a mainline route (and wants to develop it accordingly), and as such will paint relevant trains in the mainline livery.
Nottinghamshire County Council is working with Network Rail on introducing an additional train to Manchester which would have a shorter journey time by avoiding Sheffield.[18] Network Rail's plans for a northern hub would deliver extra train paths along the Hope Valley Line, enabling more trains to run from the North West to the East Midlands.[19]
| Route | Via | |
|---|---|---|
| Local stopping | Nottingham to Mansfield Woodhouse/Worksop | Hucknall, Mansfield |
| Local stopping | Derby to Crewe | Uttoxeter, Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove |
| Local stopping | Nottingham to Matlock | Derby, Belper, Cromford |
Route 3 services link towns in the East Midlands and provide direct services to Crewe and Stoke. The Derby to Matlock service links to the Peak District.
| Route | Via | |
|---|---|---|
| Local stopping | Newark North Gate to Cleethorpes | Lincoln Central, Grimsby Town |
| Local stopping | Peterborough to Doncaster | Sleaford, Lincoln Central |
| Local stopping | Nottingham to Skegness | Bingham, Sleaford, Boston |
| Local stopping | Leicester to Lincoln Central | Ivanhoe Line Stations (Syston - Loughborough), East Midlands Parkway, Nottingham, Newark |
Route 4 services link the East Midlands with eastern England. They are operated with Class 156 and Class 153 DMUs and occasionally Class 158 Express Sprinters.
Nottinghamshire County Council has paid for a study into increasing the line speed between Newark and Lincoln from 60 mph to 90 mph; it has also requested a doubling of service on the line.[18]
Fares are set to rise by an average of 3.4% plus inflation each year. Stagecoach says that it needs to increase prices to keep its service going and to meet Government profit demands. 3.4% plus inflation over the franchise could mean a 58% fare increase over the length of the franchise, although the percentage increases relate to averages across a range of fares and deals.[20]
In late 2009 a penalty fare scheme was introduced. The scheme includes all mainline stations served by EMT from London to Sheffield via Corby, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Alfreton. In addition it includes small commuter stations such as Syston, Attenborough, and Duffield, which have been provided with a Pertis machine which must be used.
Stagecoach Group, EMT's parent company, introduced Megatrain fares on its London routes on 2 January 2008[21] operating to/from London St Pancras International to
Megatrain fares have also been introduced on Route 2 between Sheffield, Chesterfield, Nottingham and Peterborough or Norwich.[22]
East Midlands Parkway is used as an interchange station for combined multi-modal journeys under the brand name "MegabusPlus", whereby passengers are carried by road coach from the cities in the north of England to East Midlands Parkway, where passengers transfer to rail for the service to London.[23]
Routes operated under the "MegabusPlus" brand are between London and:
The bus from Hull and Scunthorpe also had a stop at Doncaster at the launch of MegabusPlus, but due to lack of demand in Doncaster, the service no longer calls there.
Stagecoach is currently spending more than £91 million on service improvements.[24]
Faster trains from Nottingham[25] and from Sheffield to London St Pancras.[24]
Increasing the number of departures from London to five an hour off-peak incorporating Corby services and extending the hours of operation with earlier arrival and later departures, to allow better connections with Eurostar at St Pancras.[24]
London to Lincoln daily service via Nottingham.
East Midlands Trains Local Matlock to Derby services run hourly and extend to Nottingham.[24] A new Sunday service runs on the Robin Hood Line between Nottingham and Mansfield Woodhouse.[26] Trains will be lengthened on the east-west Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich route on weekdays.[24] There will be an internal and external refit of all of the old trains to incorporate the new logo and livery.[27]
Other changes to the timetable are planned, but these need to have approval from Network Rail, Office of Rail Regulation and the Department for Transport. Journey times will be further improved after planned infrastructure works are completed.[28]
The Department for Transport in its franchise specification gave an indication of its ambitions for the timetable; this mainly related to former Midland Mainline services operating to and from London St Pancras.
| St Pancras – Sheffield (stopping only at the key locations of Chesterfield, Derby and Leicester with faster timings of 2hr 08min). | |
| St Pancras – Corby. This train runs as a dedicated commuter/short distance service. | |
| St Pancras – Derby (fast service). | |
| St Pancras – Nottingham (fast) | |
| St Pancras – Lincoln (stopping service, extended from Nottingham at peak times). | |
| The current morning and evening services from and to Leeds are to continue as the HST fleet will continue to be maintained at Neville Hill depot in Leeds. | |
| Weekend services to York and Scarborough will continue beyond the December 2008 timetable change. | |
| Services to and from Barnsley and Burton upon Trent will cease to operate from the December 2008 timetable. | |
| The 2008 timetable changes reduce frequency, capacity and speed of services between London, Kettering and Wellingborough. | |
| There has been no mention of the proposed timetable in Lincolnshire and the other rural lines, although it is expected that service patterns will remain as now until the 2008 timetable change when there will be extensive consultation sessions. Standard hourly timetables are expected to be introduced on many routes. |
More than £5 million has been pledged for station enhancements.[29] These include the opening of East Midlands Parkway station to serve East Midlands Airport. A new station has been opened at Corby.
The provision of Wi-Fi Internet at key stations including Leicester,[30] Derby,[31] and Sheffield. Installation of ticket barriers at four more stations including London St Pancras Domestic, Derby Midland, Nottingham and Sheffield.[32]
Derby's Etches Park train maintenance depot is in the process of an extensive upgrade.[33]
Introduction of smart card technology, similar to that used on South West Trains, at all London route stations and all those in the Leicester/Derby/Nottingham commuter triangle, and the installation of more self-service ticket machines across the network.[34]
East Midlands Trains also manage stations at which they do not operate services:
Originally it was proposed to remove the buffet cars from High Speed Train sets as they are very heavy and used only to cook breakfast on some trains; they were to be replaced by an at-seat trolley service.[35] The company reviewed its decision and launched an enhanced catering service for the start of the May 2008 timetable.[36] From September 2010 Rail Gourmet will provide all standard class catering on routes 1 and 2, with the customer host on route 1 services providing an enhanced first class service. WiFi will be available on all London services from 5 September 2010.[37]
Stagecoach have targeted 90.3% (PPM) on London services and 87% (PPM) on Local services.[38] Previously the Central Trains franchise had had difficulties with timekeeping due to the high number of potential clashes with late running other services en route and use of insufficient stock, causing long dwell times at stations due to slow unloading and loading. Figures released rated Central Trains' performance at 87.8% for the PPM (Public Performance Measure) over the first quarter of the financial year 2007/8.[39] Latest figures released by the ORR rated performance over the last year (up to 31 March 2011) at 92.1% (MAA) and 92.5% (PPM) for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2010/11.[40]
On 1 February 2008, an East Midlands Trains Class 158 158856 from Nottingham to Norwich was involved in an incident at Barrow upon Soar. The train hit a footbridge in its path, after a road vehicle had struck and damaged the bridge causing it to be foul of the line. Six passengers were on board the service and the driver had to be cut free from the driving cab.[41]
The company received media attention in January 2010 when a ticket inspector refused to allow a group of soldiers to travel from East Midlands Parkway to London St Pancras because their rail warrants had been made out for a different journey. Another passenger bought tickets for the soldiers and East Midlands Trains subsequently apologised for the incident.[42]
On 20 February 2010 an express from London St Pancras to Sheffield being operated by 222005 was derailed north of Market Harborough, causing track damage and major disruption to rail services for three days. East Midlands Trains put an emergency timetable into place, running services via Melton Mowbray on 21, 22 and 23 February. A complete safety check found no problems in the rest of the fleet.[43][44]
East Midlands Trains inherited Midland Mainline’s InterCity 125 (HST) and Class 222 Meridian diesel-electric high-speed trains, along with some of the Sprinter diesel units (classes 153/156/158) formerly operated by Central Trains.
All Class 158 units have been refurbished in a style similar to sister company South West Trains' fleet, although with a higher seating capacity.[45][46]
The High Speed Train sets are being refurbished over a sixty-week period. The first set was shown off to the public at the Neville Hill Open Day in September. The refurbishment features only a retrim of carpets, recovering of existing seats and new dado side panels, wall ends and seat-top hand grips being repainted. LED reading lights in first-class carriages are being removed and the wheelchair-accessible toilets are not being updated to meet the Disability Discrimination Act.[47]
East Midlands Trains announced in March 2008 that it was to reform its Class 222 sets to prevent overcrowding. This will see the remaining 4-car Class 222 units receive an extra vehicle to become 5-car sets. This was accomplished by reducing one of the 8-car sets to a 5-car, with the remaining 8-car sets reduced to 7-cars. Extra capacity on long-distance routes is provided by running pairs of 5-car sets coupled together.[48]
All four of the Class 222/1 units from First Hull Trains have now been transferred, allowing enough rolling stock for the new service to Corby.[49]
First Hull Trains made a decision to use only Class 180 'Adelante' units, with its Class 222 'Pioneer' units transferring to East Midlands Trains.[50]
East Midlands Trains began the service from Corby on 23 February 2009.[51] Initially, this was made up of one train per day in each direction, using the existing Meridian fleet.[52] The full Corby service started on 27 April 2009.
The sprinter fleet which EMT inherited at the start of the franchise was in a very poor state.[53] Problems ranged from basic and simple to major complicated faults. The fleet was put together from various sources - around four different previous companies, with some coming directly from passenger work but some that had been lying idle surplus to requirements off lease in sidings. East Midlands Trains has claimed that it will take the lifetime of the franchise to get the trains to a standard that it is happy with. In addition to the various sources of the trains, passenger figures given to the Department for Transport prior to the franchise were incorrect, leading to a shortfall in the number of seats provided (a 26% decrease in capacity on route 2[53]) compared with what was required.
Four additional Class 156 DMUs, leased from Angel Trains have been cascaded from Northern to enable more route 2 services to run as four-coach trains by using these cascaded Class 156s on Skegness services in lieu of Class 158s. From December 2012 when the sprinter refurbishment programme is complete, all route 2 services between Liverpool and Nottingham will be able to operate as four-coach trains. In addition, from December 2011 the 13:52 from Liverpool will operate through to Norwich.[54]
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Cars per set | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| Class 43 High Speed Train | diesel locomotive | 125 | 200 | 26 | Operates with MK3s | Route 1 Route 4 (Skegness Summer Sat from 2009) |
1976–1982 | |
| Mark 3 Coach | Passenger Coach | 125 | 200 | 108 | Operates with HSTs | Route 1 Route 4 (Skegness Summer Sat from 2009) |
1975–1988 | |
| Class 153 Super Sprinter | diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 17 | 1 | Route 3 Route 4 |
1987–1988 | |
| Class 156 Super Sprinter | diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 15 | 2 | Route 2 (Occasionally) Route 3 Route 4 |
1987–1989 | |
| Class 158 Express Sprinter | diesel multiple unit | 90 | 145 | 25 | 2 | Route 2 Route 3 Route 4 |
1989–1992 | |
| Class 222 Meridian | diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 27 | 4, 5 or 7 | Route 1 Route 2 (Occasionally) |
2003–2005 | |
Train crew depots are located at:
Trains are maintained at:
Shunter drivers are employed by EMT at Derby, Nottingham and Leeds.
On train catering for standard class passengers on routes 1 and 2, is of September 2010, contracted out to rail gourmet who have depots at Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield.
Although all stations are owned by Network Rail the day to day management is handled by Train Operating Company's. EMT has staff at the following managed stations: London St Pancras, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby, Market Harborough, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Stamford, Narborough, Hinckley, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby, Kidsgrove, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Beeston, Nottingham, Alfretton, Sleaford, Boston, Skegness.
| Preceded by Central Trains Central franchise |
Operator of East Midlands franchise 2007 - present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Midland Mainline Midland Main Line franchise |
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