- East Midlands Railway announced it will cancel hundreds of services in the coming weeks from its intercity timetable on the Midland mainline, due to continued problems with its fleet of Hitachi trains.
- EMR is cancelling about 20 fast trains a day between London, Sheffield, and Nottingham, while others will also be short-formed and are likely to be crowded.
- The new Aurora Class 810 fleet, introduced less than a year ago, has suffered from what EMR has called performance and reliability issues.
- Will Rogers, the managing director of EMR, stated that the performance of the class 810 fleet has fallen below the levels expected, necessitating a temporary reduced timetable.
- East Midlands Railway has announced a temporary reduced intercity timetable starting Monday, July 20, due to reliability issues with its new Aurora Class 810 fleet and maintenance delays on older Class 222 trains.
- The older Class 222 fleet is also facing maintenance delays, which has significantly impacted EMR's ability to run a consistent intercity service for customers.
- Aslef has called strike ballots on LNER and Avanti West Coast, which could further impact intercity services.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) is set to implement a temporary reduced intercity timetable starting Monday, July 20, due to ongoing reliability issues with its new Hitachi Class 810 trains and maintenance delays affecting the older Class 222 fleet.156
Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, stated: '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.'4
The operator will cancel about 20 fast trains daily between London, Sheffield, and Nottingham, with others likely to be short-formed and crowded.2
Rogers added: '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.'
The Class 810 fleet, which entered service after a three-year delay, has been plagued by performance and reliability issues, prompting EMR to adjust its timetable.3
A Hitachi Rail spokesperson confirmed that they are working closely with EMR to resolve these issues, stating, 'Hitachi Rail continues to work closely with all industry partners during the entry-into-service phase of the Class 810 fleet.'
Customers with affected bookings can travel on trains before or after their scheduled service or request a full refund.
Bruce Williamson from Railfuture remarked: 'Quite simply any reduction in service is a step in the wrong direction.'
Harborough MP Neil O'Brien criticized the situation, calling it 'a total mess and it has been a mess for months.'
“Aslef has called a strike ballot on LNER after a pay deal fell through, while drivers at Avanti West Coast are already voting on strike action. EMR managing director Will Rogers said the fleet's performance fell below expectations and the reduced timetable is necessary while working with Hitachi Rail to resolve issues.”
The Guardian
West Bridgford Wire
