Derbyshire rail passengers warned amid major disruption on East Midlands Railway services over the festive season – as engineering works start tomorrow

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, December 21 to Sunday, December 29, Network Rail is carrying out major route improvement work.

This includes replacing overhead electric power lines which will allow the introduction of EMR's new Aurora bi-mode fleet next year.

Due to the work taking place between December 21 and 29, 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, December 27. On Monday, December 30, some early services from London St Pancras will also be affected due to the unavoidable displacement of trains throughout the engineering works.

Philippa Cresswell, EMR’s customer service director, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London between December 21 and 29 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.” 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.

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.

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.