Christmas 2024: Vital engineering works to allow the introduction of EMR's new fleet will significantly affect services over festive period

East Midlands Railway (EMR) is urging customers who are planning to use its services over the festive period to fully understand how their journey is affected by engineering works.

This festive period, from Saturday, 21 to Sunday, 29 December, Network Rail is carrying out major route improvement work, including replacing overhead electric power lines which will allow the introduction of EMR's new Aurora bi-mode fleet next year.

The Aurora bi-mode fleet, which will be able to run on electric and diesel, will transform the service and experience onboard the Midland Main Line - to and from London St Pancras - providing EMR customers more seats and modern interiors.

The engineering work during the festive period also includes other vital and extensive maintenance works and supports the future expansion of freight operations on the network.

Due to the work taking place between Saturday 21 December to Sunday 29 December, all EMR Intercity and Connect services to London St Pancras will terminate at Bedford. Customers travelling to London St Pancras will be required to transfer to rail replacement buses, which will operate between Bedford and Milton Keynes.

From there, customers can continue their journey into London Euston via the West Coast Main Line. The EMR platforms at London St Pancras will be closed for the duration of the works.

Customers travelling north from London will need to take a train from London Euston to Milton Keynes where rail replacement buses will transfer them over to EMR services at Bedford. 

Customers should be aware that journey times are expected to be extended by up to one hour due to the replacement bus services.

EMR will provide up to 12 buses per hour between Bedford and Milton Keynes in both directions, ensuring frequent connections to West Coast Main Line services.

All services will finish earlier than usual on Christmas Eve, and post-Christmas services will start later than normal on Friday 27 December. On Monday 30 December, some early services from London St Pancras will also be affected due to the unavoidable displacement of trains throughout the engineering works.

Customers are strongly encouraged to plan their journeys in advance and check EMR’s online timetable for the most up-to-date travel information.

Although there will be the same capacity for luggage on our rail replacement bus services, EMR is advising customers to only bring what they are comfortable with carrying themselves.

Support and assistance

• To help passengers navigate these changes, EMR will have additional staff on hand at key stations and along alternative routes.

• For customers requiring assistance, EMR’s Passenger Assistance service is available to ensure a seamless travel experience. This includes booking support for disabled passengers and the availability of British Sign Language interpreters through EMR’s BSL Live service.

For more detailed information, including real-time timetable updates, visit the EMR website at www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk 

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London between Saturday, 21 and Sunday, 29 December to check their journeys in advance by looking for updates on the EMR website.

“We are working closely with other operators to keep customers moving throughout the festive period; however, journey times will be significantly longer than normal with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst these vital engineering upgrades take place. This work will directly benefit our customers in the future, allowing the introduction of our new Aurora bi-mode trains.”