EMR services increased after issues with new fleet

1 hour ago

Jude WinterEast Midlands

News image — The new Aurora (Class 810) fleet entered service in December 2025 but has had numerous problems

East Midlands Railway An Aurora Class 810 train at a station in the East Midlands. — The new Aurora (Class 810) fleet entered service in December 2025 but has had numerous problems

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has announced it is increasing services after they were reduced due to issues with a new fleet of trains.

The operator reduced its Intercity timetable, which runs to and from London St Pancras, to 87% in July after experiencing problems with its new Aurora (Class 810) trains, built by Hitachi Rail.

Following "improved operational stability", EMR increased its Intercity operation from 87% to 92% on 1 September, and said it now has "greater confidence" in increasing it to 96% from 19 October.

Neil Grabham, interim managing director at East Midlands Railway, said restoring services "will provide greater choice and flexibility for those travelling to and from London".

Nigel Harris/Getty Images A view of Nottingham Eastcroft light maintenance railway depot in Nottinghamshire, England, UK — A number of regional EMR services, as well as Intercity trains, are to be increased

EMR said it has worked closely with Hitachi Rail, the Department for Transport (DfT), and other industry partners to "improve fleet reliability and ensure the resilience needed to operate additional services safely and consistently."

The Intercity services run between London and destinations including Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, Derby and Sheffield.

More Intercity services between Sheffield and London will be restored, including the return of the 09:00 departure from Sheffield, alongside "additional" weekend and early and late journey options.

Nottingham will also see more weekday and weekend services reinstated, including the return of the 13:50 and 18:10 services to London and the 11:35, 16:05 and 20:35 trains back to the East Midlands.

"While this is a positive step forward, we recognise that there is still more work to do," said Grabham.

"We remain focused on working closely with Hitachi Rail, the Department for Transport and our other industry partners to address the remaining fleet challenges and restore the full timetable as soon as we can.

"I would like to thank our customers and our frontline teams for their continued patience, understanding and hard work as we continue through this recovery."

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