East Midlands Railway (EMR), operated by Transport UK, is increasing capacity across its Intercity services from Monday 14 December, delivering up to 17,000 seats each week.
The increase will be made possible by the introduction of two Class 221 trains, on lease from Grand Central, which will provide 10-carriage trains on selected weekday services between Sheffield, Nottingham and London St Pancras.
As well as providing additional capacity on the services operated by the Class 221 trains, their introduction will free up another train to increase capacity on a further eight Intercity services, providing more seats for customers and making better use of EMR’s available fleet.
The Class 221 trains are being introduced on a short-term basis following delays to the delivery of EMR’s new Class 810 Aurora trains by Hitachi Rail, which continue to affect the Intercity timetable. EMR is continuing to work closely with Hitachi Rail to introduce more of the new trains and improve the availability and reliability of its existing Intercity fleet, while also looking at opportunities to increase capacity as more trains become available.
The Class 221s will operate as 10-carriage trains on selected weekday services between Sheffield, Nottingham and London St Pancras. They will operate alongside EMR’s existing Class 222 and Class 810 trains, although customers may notice some differences in their appearance, layout and on-board facilities.
To help customers prepare, EMR will share further information ahead of their introduction, including a familiarisation video offering a closer look at the trains and explaining what to expect when travelling on board.
To ensure customers can board and leave the train safely at every stop, the Class 221s will only stop at stations where the train length is suitable for the platform. This means they will not call at Chesterfield, Beeston or Long Eaton.
Further information about which services will be operated by the Class 221s will be available through EMR’s website and journey planners ahead of their introduction. The changes coincide with the December timetable change, and customers are encouraged to check their journey before travelling.
Neil Grabham, Interim Managing Director at EMR, said: “Increasing capacity for our customers is an important part of our work to strengthen Intercity services, and from Monday 14 December we’ll be adding up to 17,000 additional seats each week on weekdays.
“By introducing two additional Class 221 trains, we’re not only increasing the capacity of the services they operate but also freeing up another train to provide more seats on a further eight Intercity services.
“This allows us to make better use of the fleet available and provide more seats for customers while we work with Hitachi Rail to introduce more of our new Class 810 trains and improve the availability and reliability of our Intercity fleet. We’ll also continue to look for opportunities to increase capacity across our services as more trains become available, helping us deliver a more consistent service for our customers.”
Image credit: EMR
