Media invite: Welcome to EMR Connect - the new all electric train service from Corby to London St Pancras

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Note to media: East Midlands Railway will be offering face-to-face interviews at Corby station at 09.30 on Monday, 17th May.

There will the opportunity to interview the following: 

• Lisa Angus, Transition & Projects Director, East Midlands Railway
  
• Tim Walden, Route Delivery Director, Network Rail
• David Fursdon, Corby Rail Users Group

If you would like to attend, please email media@eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk by 1pm on Friday, 14th May.

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East Midlands Railway (EMR) will launch its new all-electric service between Corby and London St Pancras this Sunday. 

EMR Connect, is the company’s first electric route, reducing carbon emissions by 77% and lowering noise levels for lineside neighbours. It also provides EMR’s sixth train to and from London every hour, up from the current five.

The new timetable is made possible by the successful delivery of the £1.5 billion Midland Main Line Upgrade by Network Rail, which includes new overhead line equipment between Bedford and Corby, as well as an additional track between Kettering and Corby.  

EMR Connect will be comprised of eight carriage electric trains serving Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Luton & Luton Airport Parkway every 30 minutes on weekdays from 06:00.

Services on Sunday afternoon will also be significantly improved, with a full weekday timetable running after 14:00 – providing better access to and from London and the East Midlands.

It will provide more seats for passengers across the region – with further late night and early morning services – and will allow the reintroduction of peak services between Wellingborough and Bedford, meaning passengers will not need to use the replacement coach service.

The trains which will operate EMR Connect are known as Class 360’s. EMR had hoped to refurbish a number of these trains before they entered service. However, as a result of delays caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, that has unfortunately not been possible. EMR is fully committed to refurbish these trains as swiftly as possible and will share more information on this programme soon.

Passengers wanting to use EMR’s Intercity service north of Kettering will be able to make a northbound connection, twice an hour at the same times, every hour, and with coordinated interchange times, the total journey time to Leicester and Nottingham remain the same as today.

As well as the enhanced services, Sunday will mark EMR's return to its full pre-Covid' timetable for the first time since March 2020, helping to support the region's recovery from the pandemic. 

Will Rogers, Managing Director of East Midlands Railway, said he was excited to begin EMR Connect and start a new era for the company. 

He said: "We are delighted to be able to introduce our new all-electric EMR Connect service for our passengers travelling between Corby and London St Pancras.

“It will enable a significant reduction in carbon emissions and noise levels, while at the same time provide more seats, later services and a simpler and more resilient timetable.  

"Its introduction will help to support leisure, business and tourism journeys and contribute to the region's recovery out of the pandemic.  

"But as customers use EMR Connect for the first time, it is vital they can travel with confidence. That is why we have put in place many robust and new measures, such as employing the most cleaners in our history, sourcing powerful disinfectant products and purchasing new specialist fogging cleaning equipment.

"It has been an incredible team effort to get this new service ready, especially during a period so heavily affected by Covid and that is why we are so proud to be able to launch EMR Connect and welcome our first passengers aboard."

Gary Walsh, Route Director for Network Rail in the East Midlands, added: “It’s brilliant to be welcoming passengers back to our new, improved railway. Many thousands of people from across our industry have worked together over several years to deliver the biggest step-change improvement for passengers and our freight customers in a generation on our route.

"Our £1.5bn investment has been carefully targeted to deliver best value for money and as the country moves out of Lockdown, we’re delighted to be doing our part to support its recovery by offering clean, safe and reliable services in partnership with our colleagues at EMR.”

ENDS