The RMT union has announced that it plans to hold strikes on EMR's Intercity and Connect routes on the first three Saturdays in August: 1st, 8th and 15th.  The union cites safety concerns with the new Aurora Class 810 trains whereby the trains, which contain much electronic equipment, have required a full system re-set after entering service.  The union says this leaves the train without active safety systems including communications between the train and the control and trackside staff.  Clearly this is a concern.   EMR report that the trains are safe, and that they continue to engage in discussions with the union.  EMR also plan to run an emergency timetable on those three Saturdays between roughly 07:00 and 18:00.  This comprises essentially an hourly service on each of the three routes out of St Pancras: to Nottingham (calling at Market Harborough); to Sheffield, and the Connect service to Corby.  EMR’s Regional services are not affected.
The RMT has also announced Action Short of Strike from Sunday 2nd to Friday 7th August, Sunday 9th to Friday 14th August and from Sunday 16th August until further notice.  Trains may therefore be subject to additional short-notice alterations and cancellations.
As passengers continue to suffer enough disruption as it is, we hope the two sides can reach an agreement and that the industrial action will be called off.

On Friday 17th July, EMR announced that a temporary timetable for its Intercity services would be introduced on Monday 20th July until further notice.  This follows months of cancellations of services because of a shortage of rolling stock, see 9th July story below.  The new Aurora Class 810 bi-mode trains are very late in delivery from builders Hitachi and those that have been accepted into the EMR fleet are proving unreliable in service.  Meanwhile, the diesel Class 222 Meridian units are reduced in number as five have been transferred to open-access operator Lumo for their new Euston – Stirling service.  The remaining 22, from a total fleet of 27, were being worked harder to maintain the timetable, and this has taken a toll on their reliability. 
The temporary timetable therefore removes a number of services on the two Intercity routes; between St Pancras and Nottingham and Sheffield respectively.  Other trains have only five carriages rather than the previous ten.  The Nottingham trains call at Market Harborough, and we have no other train service, so the effect here is significant. 
We in Harborough Rail Users have been in contact both with EMR about this and with Neil O’Brien MP, who has taken the matter up with the Rail Minister.  There has been much anger from other parties along the Midland Main Line about all of this: the cancellations, the reduced timetable and the short notice that was given about it.  However, there have been fewer ad hoc cancellations, as the reduced timetable better reflects the rolling stock available.
One adverse consequence is that our first weekday off-peak train of the day northbound, the 09:36 to Nottingham, has been withdrawn for the duration of the temporary timetable.  Many off-peak fares are only available after 09:30 on weekdays.  We have asked EMR whether off-peak tickets could therefore be made available for the preceding 09:06 train, as the difference between peak and off-peak fares can be substantial.  We await an official answer from EMR but in the meantime, the station staff at Market Harborough have been told they cannot sell off-peak tickets for the earlier train.  This rather flies in the face of the rail industry’s claim that “The Big Rail Fare Freeze is here. Rail fares have been frozen across England until March 2027 for Standard Anytime, Off-Peak and Season tickets”!
We have also asked that additional stops be made at Kettering and Market Harborough on adjacent Sheffield services to cover for withdrawn or cancelled trains.  To their credit, EMR have been doing this from time to time.
At the time of writing, there is no indication of how long the temporary timetable will remain in operation. We have asked EMR whether there is a recovery plan; a reply is awaited at the time of writing.
The temporary timetable can be found on EMR’s website here:
https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/5945/download?inline

On 15th July, the Government announced a crackdown on fare evasion across the rail network. Fare dodging is estimated to cost the railways £400m annually. Every pound lost to fare dodging is a pound lost for maintenance and improvements to the railway, its infrastructure and rolling stock.  The Government has therefore announced a £33.4m investment in new tickets gates at stations across England.  The new ticket gates will allow for:

• Digital ticket scanning
• Traditional paper tickets
• Contactless ‘tap out’ functionality where available.

Most of EMR’s Intercity stations already have ticket gates, but Market Harborough does not.  It is specifically named as due to receive them during the initial roll-out, due to start in the first half of 2027.  The programme is due to be completed by mid-2028.
Installing ticket barriers in the booking hall will be straightforward.  However, as ticket gates need to be under cover and staffed, we await plans for the car park steps entrance. 

​“We are sorry to announce that the 09:57 East Midlands Railway service to London St Pancras has been cancelled.  This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.”
We have become all too familiar with messages of this kind over the station tannoy system in recent months.  OK, stuff happens, and there will always be train cancellations, but the situation has now become serious to the point of unsustainable.  The reliability of our train service has reached a point where people are losing faith and are switching to other routes or not using the train.
The basic reason is that, despite valiant efforts by maintenance crews and others to run as many trains as they can, there just isn’t enough rolling stock.
Our new Class 810 Aurora bi-mode (electric + diesel) trains are very late in delivery from Hitachi.  They are also proving unreliable in service.  In addition, one was severely damaged in the tragic accident south of Bedford on 19th June.
Our old Class 222 Meridian diesel units, which have served us well, are reduced in number as five have been transferred away for use by another operator.   Those that remain are being used intensively, to provide as good a service as possible, but this means reduced maintenance downtime (consistent with maintaining safety, of course) and increased in-service failures.  We now have a level of cancellations that is severely denting public confidence in the train service.  The effect on the travelling public is severe, especially when consecutive trains are cancelled.   We also recognise that the frontline staff are embarrassed by all this and can face anger from disgruntled and distressed passengers.
Harborough Rail Users discussed this with EMR back in April, but the situation has got measurably worse since then.  We have now written again to EMR and to Neil O’Brien MP, calling for an apology from EMR, regular information and updates on a recovery plan, and a realistic assessment of how long this situation is expected to continue.
We shall continue to do what we can to press for an early resumption of an acceptable level of service on our line.

The summer timetable came into effect nationally on Sunday 17th May 2026.  There is little change for the EMR Intercity service.  The May 2026 timetable can be obtained from EMR’s website here: https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/5762/download?inline