East Midlands Railway urges customers travelling to London this weekend to plan ahead

East Midlands Railway is urging customers travelling between Nottingham and London this weekend to leave extra time for their journey and to plan ahead. 

EMR is operating a full timetable on both days and will have extra staff on hand at key stations. In addition, services will be strengthened with additional carriages where possible to help provide extra capacity on both Saturday and Sunday.

The additional demand is likely as play-off finals at Wembley on Saturday and Sunday both feature teams on the East Midlands Railway network.

On Saturday, Mansfield Town will play Port Vale in the League Two Play-Off Final, and on Sunday, Nottingham Forest will face Huddersfield Town in the Championship Play-Off Final. Thousands of supporters are expected to travel to and from London on both days. 

In addition to leaving extra time, customers may wish to consider travelling to Kettering and then travelling on EMR Connect services into London St Pancras. EMR Connect services also run every 30 minutes but have more seats than EMR Intercity services. 

Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director, said: "We want everyone travelling this weekend to have a safe and enjoyable experience.

"However, it is clear some of our services - particularly in the morning and immediately after the matches - will be very busy. We will be doing everything we can to help those travelling, including providing extra staff at key stations and strengthening services with additional carriages where possible.

"We ask our customers to also take sensible steps to help their journey by planning ahead, leaving extra time and considering slightly different routes for getting to and from London.

"More information, including our journey planner and timetables are available on our website, www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk."