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Other Bits and Pieces:
TravelWatch East Midlands
Commuters travelling on the Nottingham to Lincoln route are to benefit from an improved Saturday service. The majority of services run by East Midlands Trains will be around three minutes faster - with the fastest journey time at 47 minutes compared to the current 51 minutes.
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East Midlands Trains launches £13 million of improvements in Northamptonshire. The franchise, which runs services from London St Pancras International to Northamptonshire, East Midlands and South Yorkshire, has pledged to offer discounted fares and better compensation for delays, along with cleaner stations and trains. The Department for Transport has extended the licence until at least March 2018.
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Work to electrify TransPennine and Midland Mainline railways will resume under plans announced on, Wednesday 30 September 2015, as part of Sir Peter Hendy’s work to reset Network Rail’s upgrade programme. Sir Peter Hendy has outlined to the Secretary of State for Transport how work could continue. The Secretary of State has replied to the Chair of Network Rail asking Network Rail to un-pause this work.
More details Gov.UK Web Site 30th September 2015
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East Midlands Trains has agreed a new franchise to continue operating regional services to the North of England and London until March 2018. Under the deal, the firm will pay the government £150m to put towards other rail network investment.
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Work to build the long-awaited Ilkeston railway station is set to start at the end of September. Preliminary works, which include setting up the site with office cabins and investigation and treatment of any old mine workings underneath the new platforms is due to begin from September 28.
More details Derby Telegraph. 10th September 2015
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Nottingham’s new expanded tram network will open to the public on Tuesday, August 25th it was announced today (24th August).
More details NET Web Site 24th August 2015
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The Chairman of the HS2 project which will one day see high speed trains running through the East Midlands has confirmed the original location of Toton will be the place a station for the region will be built.
More details ITV News 14th July 2015
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Rail passengers travelling between Lincoln and Nottingham will benefit from extra services and faster trains from 17th May. East Midlands Trains pledged the improvements to the Castle Line in September 2014 after a £2 million boost in government funding.
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New timetables come into force for some train operators on Sunday 17th May 2015. Details of changes to East Midlands Trains can found ls here.
Cycle facilities at railway stations in Nottinghamshire are set to be boosted after a £1.4 million Government grant. East Midlands Trains will spend the money on cycle racks and hire stations at 15 stations across its network.
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Long-awaited improvements to trains between Nottingham and Lincoln are to come into place by May. More than £2 million will be spent on improving services through Newark and Carlton/Gedling. It will mean 25 more trains every weekday between Newark Castle and Nottingham, making it an hourly service. The service onwards to Lincoln will be faster when the trains start running on May 18.
More details Nottingham Post 25th February 2015
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Plans for a £25 million transport hub in the centre of Lincoln have been revealed, including a new bus and train station, a 1,000 space car park and new pedestrian footbridges. The scheme would be led by the City of Lincoln Council in partnership with Lincolnshire Co-op and Network Rail, working with East Midlands Trains and Lincolnshire County Council.
More details The Lincolnite 9th January 2015
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Stagecoach and Virgin joint-venture wins east coast mainline franchise. Inter City Railways, 90% owned by Stagecoach, will bring London-Edinburgh line back into private hands after five years.
More details The Guardian 28th November 2014
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Positive news ‘imminent’ for better Lincoln to Nottingham rail links. The Department for Transport is expected to announce positive news “imminently” on its involvement in the CastleLine project for more and faster trains between Lincoln and Nottingham.
More details the LINCOLNITE 4th September 2014
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Nottingham City Council is set to transform the way passengers buy public transport 'smart' tickets. The first phase of the £1.5m retail network includes ticket machines, Payzone outlets and an online portal, to make it faster, easier and more cost effective to buy, collect and top up tickets for journeys in and around the city.
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Notinghamshire business leaders said they hope that plans for a third high speed rail link in the UK will not come at the expense of firms in the East Midlands. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne recently unveiled plans for HS3, to connect the proposed HS2 lines across the north of England. It would use the existing Manchester- to-Leeds line, but with improved infrastructure to cut journey times.
Read more in the Nottingham Post 30th June 2014
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Hopes of being able to commute between Spalding and Lincoln by train are rising thanks to a £280 million rail project. Upgrading of the Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) line running from Peterborough to Doncaster, including Spalding, Sleaford and Lincoln, may pave the way for more trains to be provided more regularly. The suggestion comes from Network Rail which is behind the GNGE project to transform it into a railway fit for the 21st century.
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Ticket machines at tram stops across Nottingham are now officially ‘live’ as the network switches to new ticketing arrangements. Following several weeks of intense testing, activation of the machines, alongside smart card validators, will herald the arrival of an efficient and easy to use ‘buy before you board’ system for customers.
Read more in the The Big Wheel 29th April 2014
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A deal has been confirmed to allow East Midlands Trains to continue to operate a rail franchise that serves Derby.
The Department for Transport has agreed the deal with the train operator's parent company, Stagecoach Group, which will see it continue to operate the franchise until October 2015. Under the East Midlands Trains brand, Stagecoach runs trains between Derby to London St Pancras and UK destinations including Leicester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
Read more in the Derby Telegraph 8th April 2014
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Network Rail’s route managing director, Phil Verster, and East Midlands Trains' managing director, David Horne, explain in a joint statement what improvements Derby rail passengers can expect from the £1.6 billion being spent over the next five years. This year, Derby celebrates 175 years since the railway arrived in the city. It is an important anniversary for Derby, which remains a thriving rail hub. But, not only is it an exciting year for Derby, it is an exciting era for railway in the East Midlands.
Read more in the Derby Telegraph 31st March 2014
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There have been a number of bus service reviews in the Nottingham area and a revised fare structure.
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A rail passenger group has renewed its call for a second rail service north from Kettering towards Leicester to be reinstated by train operators. The Kettering Rail Users group says there should be more than just one off-peak service an hour, with a second service going via Derby rather than Nottingham.
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East Midlands Trains win top customer service award. East Midlands Trains has scooped one of the top awards at the 2013 Rail Business Awards for its customer information and service during last year’s Nottingham re-signalling scheme.
Read more in The Star 3rd March 2014
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Local cyclists are now benefitting from new facilities at East Midlands Trains stations, creating over 1000 extra cycle spaces at stations throughout the East Midlands Trains network, as part of a commitment by the train operator to make it easier for passengers to access stations using environmentally friendly transport.
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Work has started on the refurbishment of the ticket office at a Market Harborough. The upgrade is the second phase of a £100,000 scheme that will introduce contactless payment technology, free Wifi and upgraded passenger information screens.
Read more in the Leicester Mercury 13th February 2014
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Plans for a footbridge over the High Street railway crossing in Lincoln have been given the green light. A planning committee at the City of Lincoln Council approved proposals for a bridge. Chairman of the committee Councillor Peter West told the meeting the bridge is "vital" for the survival of Lincoln's High Street. The bridge structure, including lifts for disabled and cycle access, would be kept and maintained by Network Rail.
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Nottingham Station fall in customer satisfaction with East Midlands Trains. Independent watchdog Passenger Focus has revealed that 86 per cent of customers were satisfied with the service they received from East Midlands Trains in autumn 2013.
Read more at Nottingham Post 22nd January 2014
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Parent company of East Midlands Trains vyes to operate another rail franchise. Stagecoach Group, in partnership with Virgin, has been shortlisted by the Department for Transport to operate the InterCity East Coast rail franchise.
More details Derby Telegraph 18th January 2014
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Timetable changes from 8 December 2013. East Midlands Trains new timetable will launch which will see faster journey times to and from London St Pancras. As part of the changes some departure and arrival times will be changing across the network.
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Nottingham’s new Citadis tram has begun dynamic testing on the city’s streets ahead of its arrival on Line 1 next year. Initial test runs began in the city centre in the early hours of Friday (November 15) morning. Three of the 22 trams being built at Alstom’s plant in Barcelona have already arrived at Wilkinson Street and completed trials on the line north of the depot.
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Faster trains from Nottingham to London are now just four weeks away. East Midlands Trains launches its faster services to London on December 9th following a £70m line speed improvement scheme. Journey times to London will be reduced as trains start to operate at 125mph on certain parts of the route for the first time.
More details Nottingham Post 12th November 2013
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Wi-Fi investment. Rail passengers are to benefit from new free wi-fi service as part of a £10m investment. Among eleven other stations, Long Eaton will receive free internet as part of a programme set to benefit 15 million passengers across the UK. East Midlands Trains have announced that other mainline stations will receive the service in the autumn, an additional 29 stations are scheduled to receive free wi-fi by the end of the year.
More details and full story This is Nottingham 11th October 2013
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Eurostar is to launch a bid to run the East Coast Main Line franchise when it is returned to the public sector. The East Coast service has been run by the government for the last four years after former franchise operator National Express walked away from the contract. The East Coast line runs from London’s King’s Cross to the east Midlands, Yorkshire, north-east and Scotland.
More details and full story Buying Business Travel 30th September 2013
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East Midlands Trains and Kinchbus have teamed up to launch a special ticket for students at Loughborough University. From Monday 9 September, students and university staff travelling from Loughborough station to the university will be able to buy a combined bus and rail ticket valid for travel on East Midlands Trains and the Kinchbus ‘sprint’ route.
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An appeal to link two East Midlands heritage rail lines has raised £100,000 in just two weeks. Two sections of the old Great Central Railway are separated by 1,640ft (500m) of missing track at Loughborough. Network Rail have agreed to rebuild a crucial bridge but only if £1m could be raised towards the full £8m cost.
More details BBC News 2nd July 2013
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Bike security tips to be given to cyclists at railway station. Cyclist in Derby are being offered advice on how to keep their bikes safe as part of National Bike Week. Teams from British Transport Police and Network Rail will be working with East Midlands Trains, Derbyshire Constabulary and Derby Cycle Group at the city's railway station today and on Thursday from 5pm to 7pm.
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