UK rail passengers face a summer of disruption as train maintenance reduces services between London and Nottingham.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) has announced a temporary reduction of its Intercity timetable following ongoing service reliability and maintenance issues with Hitachi Rail’s new Class 810 fleet that “significantly impacted upon EMR’s ability to run a consistent Intercity service”.
From 20 July, hundreds of services on the EMR Intercity timetable will be cancelled on the Midland mainline, including around 20 fast trains a day connecting London, Sheffield and Nottingham.
The Class 810 fleet was introduced last year following a three-year delay to provide a smooth transition from the existing EMR Class 222 fleet.
According to the rail operator, the revised timetable intends to provide a more “consistent and reliable service” while EMR works with Hitachi Rail to resolve service reliability issues.
“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”, said EMR.
It added that the roll-out of the Class 810 fleet will continue in a “controlled manner” throughout this year and next.
EMR did not say how long the timetable changes would remain in place.
Customers already booked to travel with EMR can request a full refund or travel on two trains ahead or behind their affected service.
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.”
Train drivers employed by LNER are also poised to vote on whether to launch strike action, escalating a long-running dispute over pay.
Members of the Aslef union at the state-run rail company, which operates services along the East Coast main line, will be balloted in the coming weeks on a campaign of industrial action.
Potential strike action could impact routes connecting London King’s Cross with Leeds, York, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and Edinburgh Waverley.
Read more: Two major London railway stations to close for 22 days during £20 million upgrade
