Harborough Rail Users Committee met at the Red Cow pub in Market Harborough on Monday evening 9th March.  This was a routine meeting and the main topic discussed was the delayed introduction of the new Class 810 Aurora bi-mode train fleet and its implications. The delivery of these trains is very late.  This plus the reduced fleet of Class 222 Meridian diesel trains as the first ones are transferred away for use by open access operator Lumo for London – Scotland services, means we have an increasingly evident shortage of rolling stock for our services at Market Harborough. Trains are too often being cancelled or short-formed (five instead of ten carriages) or have other faults such as toilets not working. We have taken this up with EMR, but it is clear that the remaining diesel fleet is being ‘sweated’, with insufficient spare capacity until the new fleet is fully in service.
The general growth in rail business has exacerbated overcrowding on our trains.  This problem is especially severe when weekend engineering work closes the parallel East Coast Main Line between King’s Cross and Peterborough, with many LNER passengers using EMR services instead.
Other topics covered included the new ANPR car park payment system, which appears to be working well; congestion in the station approach road and forecourt; and concern about the closure of access from the platforms to the middle footbridge at Nottingham station, which is an important interchange point for passengers from Market Harborough. 

The Automatic Number Plate Recognition, ANPR, system came into use at Market Harborough station’s main car park on 28th November 2025.  Installation had started on 24th November. Pleasingly, the car park was free of charge during the few days in the transition period and there appeared to be a visible increase in usage!  For more information on the system, see the story below at 6th October 2025.
Parking is still charged daily but is now payable on entry.  Harborough Rail Users have expressed concerns to EMR about this, partly for non-regular users not knowing what to do and having little time before their train arrives.  Others may not know exactly when they will be returning.  Pay on exit would solve both problems.  EMR insist that the system is easy to use and allows additional days to be purchased as needed via the mobile phone app (see left).
There are some benefits compared with the old barrier system, including free parking for Blue Badge holders (subject to registering their badge on the system) and the 30 minutes’ grace before payment is required, allowing free short-stay parking. 
​Arrangements have also been made for the Station Adopters, Market Harborough in Bloom Volunteers, to be able to park free of charge when carrying out activities at the station.

EMR have announced that many of their station car parks are to have Automatic Number Plate Recognition, ANPR, technology installed, starting later in October. 
Market Harborough is included, along with Kettering and Wellingborough, in November 2025. (Market Harborough will receive its ANPR equipment on 24th November 2025, which will come into use a day or two later.)
ANPR uses cameras to capture and recognise vehicle registration numbers, helping to manage car park access more efficiently and securely. EMR are working with car park operator APCOA and the system replaces car park tickets and card permits. 
EMR advise that customers will need to pay on arrival, within 30 minutes of entry.  Drop-off and pick-up zones included in ANPR areas will have a 30-minute free period.  As pick-up and drop spaces at Market Harborough are very limited, this is a significant advantage. If a journey is disrupted and customers return after their pre-paid day parking has expired, any extra charges can be refunded via APCOA's customer service team. 
Parking for Blue Badge holders will become park free of charge.  This is a major improvement, but users must register their vehicle in advance with APCOA.
Customers will continue to be charged a day rate while using the car parks - as is the case currently.  They will be able to pay for parking in the following ways:

• Paystations at stations
• Cash at station ticket offices - but only when the ticket office is open
• By phone (An automated telephony system)
• ScanPay (By scanning a QR code on signs at the station)
• By the APCOA Connect App
• On the APCOA website, including Auto-pay functionality to automatically charge each time the customer parks

More information about the ANPR system, including frequently asked questions, can be found here: https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/anpr-car-parking
ANPR is well established at other stations around the country.  We in Harborough Rail Users welcome some of the changes ANPR will bring, not least because the car park barriers can be temperamental!  We are also pleased that Blue Badge holders will be able to park free of charge, subject to registering their vehicle beforehand.
​We have raised some questions with EMR regarding concessions for the station adopters (the volunteers who maintain the flower planters around the station) and the degree of flexibility allowed for car park season-ticket holders.  

The removal of the temporary toilet cabin back in September 2022 gave the opportunity for an improved layout of the station forecourt.  This finally happened on 7th – 8th April 2023, when new white and yellow lines were marked out.  Gone is the mini-roundabout, but reinstated is the ‘teardrop’ turning loop for taxis at the front of the main building.  Five short-stay parking spaces have been laid out on the east side of the forecourt, backing onto the railway embankment, along with a more clearly defined walking route between the cycle hub and the approach footpath.  We in Harborough Rail Users have been pressing for increased short-stay parking for some time, so it is good to see this happen.  It has been suggested that the casual cycle parking in the black plastic ‘pods’ outside the cycle hub building are to be removed, to release another space for parking.  We are concerned about this and have made representations for such provision to be provided.  Cycle parking for occasional users is essential; the alternative is that people will just chain their bikes to anything fixed and could thereby create nuisance or even hazard.  Subject to that, however, the revised forecourt is much better than the previous rather messy arrangements.

Among the various works continuing at Market Harborough station is the re-siting of the bus stop from the forecourt to the main car park entrance on the east side of the station.  Though labelled for rail replacement buses, the stop is also served by the regular Centrebus route 44 linking Foxton, Harborough town centre, Great Bowden, the Langtons, Kibworth and Fleckney.   As shown in the picture below, the new stop has a shelter.  Other modifications to the forecourt include pick-up and drop-off spaces, staff car-parking, and the long-overdue removal of the pay + display ticket machine.  Further changes are expected once the temporary toilet block is removed, when the new permanent toilets are opened on Platform 1.