Summer travel chaos is brewing on Britain's railways, with service cuts already biting on one major line and strike votes casting a shadow over two others. Passengers are facing significant uncertainty as they plan their journeys.
The first blow has fallen on the Midland mainline, where East Midlands Railway (EMR) has cancelled hundreds of services due to ongoing issues with its new Hitachi train fleet. The cancellations affect around 20 fast trains per day between London, Sheffield, and Nottingham, with other services facing reduced carriage numbers that could lead to overcrowding.
EMR blames the 'performance and reliability issues' with its Class 810 fleet, which were launched less than a year ago. Will Rogers, Managing Director of EMR, expressed regret for the disruption, stating, “The performance of the class 810 fleet has fallen below the levels we and our customers expect.” The bi-mode trains, capable of running on both diesel and electricity, were introduced this year following a three-year delay.
Meanwhile, an investigation is underway into a fatal rail crash in Bedford last month. One of EMR’s new Aurora trains reportedly stopped on the mainline before being struck by another train that had passed a red signal, possibly due to a fault with its automatic warning system.
Industrial action looms over two other major north-south intercity routes. LNER drivers are voting on strike action after talks on pay collapsed, while drivers at Avanti West Coast are already balloting on similar grounds. If both unions secure majority support for industrial action, thousands of passengers could be affected by late August.
Aslef's General Secretary, Dave Calfe, spoke out over the LNER situation, saying, “The company’s failure to make a suitable offer is unacceptable and that’s why we are balloting our members.” The union claims the Department for Transport refused to approve a pay deal reached with East Coast operator LNER.