EMR have announced that from Monday 19th October they intend to increase the planned Intercity operation from 92% to 96% of the full timetable. 
https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/reducedtimetable#19october
This follows the introduction of a temporary reduced timetable on Monday 20th July and some reinstatements from 31st August.  EMR report that the step-up in services is allowed by improved reliability of their Intercity fleets.
These are the planned cancellations, i.e. trains withdrawn temporarily from the timetable.  Though other cancellations of trains that were intended to run have continued, they have reduced.
For Market Harborough, the changes from 19th October are shown below:
(all times are at Market Harborough)

​It is very pleasing to see this step-up in the timetable.  However, we in Harborough Rail Users remain concerned that the service is still not what it should be, and that many trains that should have ten carriages will still only have five.  We are also disappointed that, despite representations to EMR, the 07:04 to Nottingham on weekdays is not yet being reinstated.

The next open committee meeting of Harborough Rail Users has been arranged for Monday 19th October 2026, starting at 7:00pm, in the upstairs room* at The Red Cow pub on High Street, Market Harborough.
Anyone who cares about the local rail service, including timetables, reliability, fares, and the facilities available at the station, is invited to come along.  No need to book, just turn up.
* Unfortunately, this room is only accessible via stairs.

EMR announced on 12th August that from Monday 31st August they plan to increase their planned Intercity operation from 87% to 92% of the full timetable.  This follows the introduction of a temporary reduced timetable on Monday 20th July.  These are the planned cancellations, i.e. trains withdrawn temporarily from the timetable.  Though other cancellations of trains that were intended to run have continued, they have reduced.
The changes for Market Harborough from 31st August are shown in the table below.  Note that it is not a simple reinstatement of some of the withdrawn trains.  Other trains that were due to run in the July reduced timetable may be withdrawn from 31st August.  EMR have based this on usage, aiming to run the most popular trains, with planned cancellations directed towards the less busy trains.
It is pleasing to see a step-up in the timetable, though there is some way to go yet.  We in Harborough Rail Users remain concerned that the service is still not what it should be, and that many trains that should have ten carriages will still only have five.
One pleasing change is the reinstatement of the 09:36 to Nottingham on weekdays.  This is our first northbound off-peak train for many journeys.  We had made representations to EMR about this.  However, we have concerns about the loss from 31st August of the 07:04 to Nottingham on weekdays.  We have taken this up with EMR.
However, the full timetable cannot be restored until more Aurora trains are available for service.  In addition, most trains will still have five carriages rather than ten, so capacity will still be only 84% of the full planned timetable.

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