East Midlands Railway (EMR) has announced a temporary reduced Intercity timetable from Monday 20 July.
The operator said that this has become necessary because the performance of Hitachi Rail’s new Aurora Class 810 fleet and their maintenance of EMR’s existing Class 222 fleet has significantly impacted upon EMR’s ability to run a consistent Intercity service for customers.
The introduction of the new Class 810 fleet was designed to provide a smooth transition from the Class 222 fleet, with a significant period where both fleets would operate alongside one another under the maintenance of Hitachi Rail.
However, a three-year delay in the first Class 810 trains coming into service, together with ongoing service reliability and maintenance issues across both fleets, has significantly impacted upon EMR’s ability to run a reliable Intercity service.
The Class 810 fleet meets all required safety standards and entered service following the necessary testing and regulatory approvals. However, service reliability has not yet reached the standard EMR expects, leaving its frontline teams too often trying to deliver excellent customer service with trains that are not presented in a condition they, or our customers, deserve.
The revised timetable is intended to provide a more consistent and reliable service while EMR works with Hitachi Rail, a world-renowned builder of railway rolling stock, to resolve the service reliability issues affecting both fleets.
The roll-out of the Class 810 fleet will continue in a controlled manner throughout 2026/2027.
Will Rogers, Managing Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “The performance of the Class 810 fleet has fallen below the levels we and our customers expect, and it is necessary to introduce a temporary reduced timetable while we work with the manufacturer, Hitachi Rail, to improve consistency in service.
“We recognise that this will be disappointing for customers, and we understand the frustration caused when our Intercity services do not consistently meet the standards they rightly expect, which in turn puts our frontline staff in an unenviable position of trying to deliver excellent customer service amidst ongoing reliability challenges.
“We are sorry for the significant disruption and inconvenience these issues have caused our customers, and we are committed to restoring the reliable service they rightly expect.”
Customers who have already booked a ticket and now find their EMR service isn’t running will be able to travel up to either two trains prior or two trains after the affected service. Customers who decide not to travel can request a full refund.
