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

​“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 platforms at Market Harborough station are being substantially reconstructed during four weekends from 21-22 June to 12-13 July, with other work during weekdays where this does not affect train operations. 
It has been discovered that the infill material between the front and back walls has failed, leading to some unevenness and surface cracking.  It is being dug out and replaced.  As the platforms are only six years old, we understand this work is being undertaken by the contractors at no cost to the railway.  Luckily, the line is already closed at weekends until the end of July for track engineering work at Wigston, so advantage of that has been taken for the platform work. The station has been a very busy work-site, with many people and vehicles engaged and large tonnages of material both removed and delivered.
Replacement buses have been running every 20 minutes between Kettering, Market Harborough and Leicester during this work, though they would have been running anyway because of the other engineering work closing the line through Wigston.
The work is being done one section of the platforms at a time.  The contractors are clearly under pressure to complete each respective section and hand it back intact in time for the first train on Monday mornings.

Via our local MP, Harborough Rail Users have called upon the Government to act to bring an end to the current plague of strikes on the railways.  The various disputes have been going on for months and, apart from an apparent glimmer of hope in early November, and a couple of specific settlements, they show no sign of ending anytime soon.  There are no winners, and the disruption causes serious difficulty to the public – who have no say in any of this.  It is time to sort this mess out!
Harborough Rail Users therefore sent the following open letter to Harborough MP Neil O’Brien on 11th December 2022:
Dear Mr O’Brien,
We are concerned about the train service currently being provided at Market Harborough.
In addition to the national disputes involving the RMT, ASLEF and TSSA unions, East Midlands Railway are involved in disputes with the Unite union.
This means that services through Harborough are being disrupted on additional days to the national strikes.
It is making the service unacceptable both to regular and occasional users.
The Government keeps stressing how much money was poured into the railways to allow key workers to get to work during the pandemic.
What are those key workers - and others - supposed to do now?
We have heard the views of the Government, the Rail Delivery Group and the trade unions over and over again.
They do not need repeating.
This issue is affecting thousands of your constituents.
It is now time to get back to the negotiating table and make a settlement.
Yours sincerely,
Harborough Rail Users
 
We sent this also to the local press, with some additional comments, and it was the front-page lead in the Harborough Mail on 22nd December. 
It is important to stress that Harborough Rail Users are politically neutral and impartial.  We are not taking sides, nor are we apportioning blame.  We also recognise that EMR have made considerable efforts to provide a train service at Market Harborough, whereas many places have had no trains at all on strike days.
Of course, the railways are by no means the only sector currently affected by strikes.  However, it is time to sort this mess out!