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61

May 15, 2008 - 12:01 PM
Simon Coxon

 

Yes overcrowding is an issue north/west of Nottingham on the Norwich-Liverpool run.

It may be better to split the service at Nottingham and run different stock on the two legs. Starting from Leicester via Nottingham would be very useful and running via Kilamarsh would eliminate the reversal at Sheffield. This would also free some paths around Sheffield.

Eventually Kilamarsh could be included as a stop?

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62

April 25, 2008 - 07:51 PM
Paul Burrows

 

I think Mike Sweeney below makes a very valid suggestion regarding the Liverpool service.

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63

April 18, 2008 - 01:25 PM
Steve Phillips

 

East Midlands Trains are literally taking us for a ride. Season ticket holders have lost out big time since the take over from MML. Not only have we suffered the highest increase in season ticket cost, we have lost:

Seat Reservations
Complimentary hot drinks
Free travel using season ticket at weekends.
Discount when purchasing tickets for accompanying passengers.

There are also restrictions on taking cycles on the train, that previously didn't apply.

Nothing good has come from EMT!

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64

March 27, 2008 - 09:27 AM
Mike Sweeney

 

With the severe overcrowding often experienced on the Norwich-Liverpool service, particularly north of Nottingham, whilst at the same time fresh air being carried around particularly east of Ely, wouldn’t it have been more sensible to split this service at Nottingham? There is a definite need for a good service from Leicester to Manchester. It would strike me as sensible to run a Leicester- Liverpool service via Nottingham with longer trains – even using Inter-City type stock. This would then replace the Nottingham – Liverpool part of the Norwich service. It would probably help with reliability too.

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65

March 13, 2008 - 09:24 AM
Nick Burton

 

No new rail investment in the Budget I note. Wasn’t very green was it.

As regards higher taxes for gas guzzling cars, many of these (not all it is true) are in company fleets for such people e.g. as sales reps. Surely companies will just pass on the extra costs to the rest of us and such vehicles will continue to pollute and congest our roads? I can’t see the typical sales rep worrying about the pollution his/her company is paying for. After all, the company car is a status symbol for these people and the type of car is seen very much as part of their employment package.

Yes I guess this is a step in the right direction for the non company car gas guzzing 4*4s etc

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66

February 29, 2008 - 08:54 PM
John Martin

 

Network Rail fined! I would rather see the money invested in rail infrastructure. What a disincentive for Network Rail to improve the network. It looks like damned if you don’t and damned if you do!

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67

February 27, 2008 - 05:55 PM
David Barrett

 

In Lincolnshire, Stagecoach are the principal bus operator. Could it be that their Lincolnshire train services will suffer as a result of this? Where were the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on this matter?

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68

February 23, 2008 - 10:08 AM
John Howard

 

At least the Sunday service seems more reliable.

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69

February 23, 2008 - 10:07 AM
Susan Kelly

 

It is still early days for EMT but things are not quite right. Perhaps people could write to the DFT or their MP to help EMT get back some of the newer rolling stock which used to be in the Nottingham area? The fact that EMT have older trains is NOT entirely their own fault.

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70

February 18, 2008 - 09:44 AM
Peter M

 

I have concerns that EMT (Stagecoach) will concentrate on the London services where it can make money and will have a “sod everything else” attitude. The fares are ludicrously high now both on the former Central Trains parts and also on the former MML parts.

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71

February 16, 2008 - 11:21 PM
davis

 

The new East Midland Trains company (Stagecoach) have taken the train service to an all time low.
The East Midlands has the oldest train stock in the entire country. We are seeing services with much fewer carriages on all the old Central Train services with considerably more overcrowding.

Their flag ship route (Norwich to Liverpool) often runs with only two carriages and always on Saturday Morning when the train is severely over crowded.

Even the Nottingham to Skegness service is run with one carriage on a busy Saturday afternoon, causing misery for the unfortunate passenger travelling on a crowded train.
In all the recent years I’ve travelled to Skegness I’ve never seen a single carriage used on that rout on a Saturday until now. How can that be right?.

Why do we have to put up with this retrograde service?. We were promised better service, better trains, Ect… but the reality is they delivered nothing but the opposite to what was promised.
Stagecoach are rubbish, and they should give up the franchise to a company that take their customers seriously and deliver a decent railway service.

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72

February 12, 2008 - 12:46 PM
David Barrett

 

2008/9 Draft Timtable propopses a similar service between Newark/Lincoln and Grimsby/Cleethorpes to that which already exists ie. no early or late services on a Saturday, no trains beyond Grimsby Town on Saturdays (only the early and late trains do so and run Sats. excepted). The times at Lincoln are inconvenient for both work and leisure yet the route itself is the fastest in terms of line speeds and shortest link between much of Northern Lincolnshire and the Midlands/ South. Why do EMT, like the operator that they have taken over from seem to have not gasped this?

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73

February 06, 2008 - 03:01 PM
Mike Kent

 

Is TWEM going to press to get some of the new carriages ordered by the DfT?

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74

January 21, 2008 - 05:08 PM
Placed by TW East Mids

 

Trains on East Midlands Trains "Connect" services are in an appalling condition and whilst to be fair to EMT, they’re making the best of a bad job, that’s no consolation to passengers paying higher fares for an unacceptable service.

Government in the shape of DfT decided the split of the former Central Trains stock.... Turbostars going to CrossCountry or London Midland.... and EMT were left from day 1 with the residue, plus whatever they could bring in from around the country.

EMT say that they plan to thoroughly overhaul and refurbish all their Sprinter units (classes 153/156/158) commencing in March and until then are trying to get them working reasonably well. The parent Stagecoach Group has a good record for both rolling stock reliability and cleanliness, the South West Trains Class 158 units based at Salisbury are the most reliable diesel units in the country. The two borrowed South West trains, on the Norwich-Liverpool service demonstrate the standards we should expect, when the upgrade is done.

EMT must give the highest priority to overcoming these failings. For our part TravelWatch East Midlands is monitoring the situation and will continue to press for early delivery of the necessary improvements

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75

January 21, 2008 - 11:03 AM
John Clayton

 

I think the comment below is perhaps a bit harsh. To some extent EMT have been forced to release the newer trains to other TOCs. However, I would agree that the East Midlands and particularly Nottingham has ended up with some of the oldest trains currently in service. BUT other parts of the Stagecoach group (who run EMT) do have some very nice stock. It is still early days, but I hope that organisations like TravelWatch and the Campaign for Better Transport (former T2000) will press for newer stock for EMT

On the positive side, Sunday services are much more reliable than they were under Central Trains.

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76

January 15, 2008 - 08:36 PM
Freed Turner

 

East Midlands Trains have turned out to be a nightmare, they use really old trains from acquired from some scrap yard just before they were going to be crushed and put them on to our railway services.
Of course i refer to the old Central Train routes. I know that Central Trains were far from perfect but they make this lot look bad. All the services i use are worse, really old trains that feel like they are about to fall apart and always two carrages even on one of their flag ship routes at busy times. They know there is serious overcrowding but refuse to sort out the problem and hope that we just clear off and get one of their buses, o no, what have i said, never thought of the connection.
Very fed up rail traveler.

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77

December 13, 2007 - 08:55 AM
Simon Moore

 

EMT seem to have given us older, slower and shorter trains for which we will have to pay more for...

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78

December 01, 2007 - 11:20 AM
Ben Clark

 

There are still cheap deals available. £16.00 return. I know of someone who has just booked his wife and daughter a trip to London for £36.00 for the two return. Use thetrainline.com, often two singles are cheaper than a return

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79

November 29, 2007 - 11:05 AM
Nigel

 

Any chance that the new franchise can sort out the overcrowding on the Oakham to Leicester line. My wife travels into Leicester rather than taking the car but is forced often to stand on the 08-10 in and the 16:20 back to Oakham till Melton and forget even getting on the 17-20.
More coaches and perhaps 1/2 hr service at both peak times would be nice utopia but if they are serious about using public transport. It is still quicker and cheaper to take the car in and park it than use the train and a better experience!

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80

November 28, 2007 - 01:36 PM
Mary Ellings

 

I hope that the Cafes on the rebuilt Derby station will concentrate on providing Fairtrade products

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