Derbyshire passengers advised not to travel as East Midlands Railway services are cancelled

East Midlands Railway have warned travellers that its services will be cancelled today with no trains running through Chesterfield due to drivers in the ASLEF union strike action .

Additionally members from RMT, TSSA, ASLEF and Unite will be taking action for the next few days with RMT explaining it was taking further strike action because of a failure to make progress in negotiations with the Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail.

The strike will continue affecting Derbyshire until Saturday causing severe disruption in services. East Midland Railway have urged customers to travel only if absolutely necessary on Thursday, October 6, Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8.

EMR warned customers to check the time of their last return train before travelling as some EMR trains will only be running between the hours of 7.30am and 6.30pm. There will be one train every hour between Sheffield and London, calling at Chesterfield, Derby, Long Eaton and East Midlands Parkway.

There will be one train every hour between Derby and Matlock, calling at Duffield, Belper, Ambergate, Whatstandwell, Cromford and Matlock Bath. There will also be one train every hour between Sheffield and Nottingham – calling at Chesterfield, Alfreton, Langley Mill and Ilkeston.

A limited catering service will be available from the buffet car on EMR Intercity services throughout the strikes. Additionally, the advance tickets have been withdrawn from sale, until alternative strike timetables are in place.

EMR warned that the trains running on strike days are expected to be extremely busy and crowded.

The services will return to normal on Sunday, October 9. Any passengers who have a ticket for October 5, 6, 7 or 8 may travel through to Tuesday, October 11. If you have Advance, Off-peak or Anytime ticket and your train is cancelled or delayed due to strike action and you choose not to travel, tickets can be changed to another date, or they can be returned for a full refund at your point of purchase. No administration fee will be charged.

If you purchased your ticket from EMR online, you can apply for a refund. If you purchased your ticket from an EMR station, please return to the station within 28 days of the travel date for a refund. If you purchased your ticket from another provider, you will need to approach them directly. Alternatively, you are entitled to a fee-free change of journey if your train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled after booking.

For Advance tickets, you can also utilise our Book with Confidence scheme until 30 November 2022, which allows you to amend your travel plans even if your train is not cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.

EMR will still offer booked Passenger Assistance for the trains which run during the strikes and will proactively contact customers who have booked assistance on the services that are affected and will be offered a refund or the chance to reschedule their journey.