East Midlands Railway (EMR) has advised passengers to make only essential journeys over the August Bank Holiday weekend, as the operator faces another period of strike action and major engineering works. Services to and from London will be "significantly reduced" on Sunday and Monday, with customers told to check their full journey, including first and last trains, before travelling.
Strike action and new fleet dispute
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has been in dispute with EMR for months over the operator's new Aurora Class 810 fleet, which was first introduced in December. Strikes have already caused disruption on three Saturdays this month.
RMT previously said the trains were "likely to fail and require a full reset which leaves the train with no active safety systems". EMR acknowledged "performance and reliability issues" but said it was "incorrect" to suggest the fleet did not meet required safety standards to carry passengers.
Queues and disruption at stations
Due to the strikes and engineering works, queueing systems will be in place at Sheffield, Nottingham, and London St Pancras stations. Passengers have been told it may not be possible to board their intended train.
EMR said the issue was compounded by disruption to LNER trains on Sunday. LNER trains will not operate between London King's Cross and Peterborough as part of digital signalling upgrades being carried out by Network Rail.
Apology and ongoing talks
As a result, EMR services to and from London St Pancras are expected to be extremely busy, with increased demand coinciding with a reduced service due to strike action.
Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director at East Midlands Railway, apologised to customers and said EMR "continue to have constructive discussions with the RMT and have met with the union six times as we work towards resolving the issues at the heart of this dispute". She added: "We recognise how frustrating this disruption will be for customers, particularly following the three Saturdays affected by RMT strike action earlier this month, and we are very sorry for the impact this will have on August Bank Holiday plans."
