East Midlands Railway told to improve ahead of renationalisation

EMR told to improve ahead of renationalisation Image caption, East Midlands Railway said it hasn't been told when it will transfer to public ownership By Emily Williamson BBC East Midlands Published 2 hours ago East Midlands Railway (EMR) has been told by the government it needs to take "immediate action" to improve its performance before the service is renationalised. The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was expecting the rail operator to transfer into public ownership by the end of 2027, as part of its plans to take control of nearly all rail services in England. Problems with EMR's new Aurora (Class 810) fleet led to months of delays , cancellations and overcrowding on services, as well as strike action by RMT union members. The government has said the operator needs to do everything it can to resolve the issues as quickly as possible, to give passengers a "more reliable" service. Renationalisation is part of government plans to improve rail infrastructure, cut train delays and improve experiences for passengers. Eventually, all train operators in England are expected to become part of a new organisation called Great British Railways (GBR) , external , which the government said would save £150m a year, by ending payments to private sector operators. Image caption, Steve Jones is the East Midlands branch secretary for the campaign group Railfuture, which campaigns for better rail services for passengers and freight Several rail firms are already publicly owned, including Great Anglia and South Western Railway, while Avanti West Coast train services will be nationalised from March 2027. The process to transfer East Midlands Railway into public ownership can start from 18 October, which is the core term expiry date , external , the earliest date the government can choose to end EMR's contract without a penalty. The Department for Transport (DfT) said it expected East Midlands Railway to transfer into public ownership by the end of 2027 as "we build towards Great British Railways, which will undo 30 years of inefficiency and fragmentation to put passengers back at the heart of services". It added: "In the meantime, we've been clear that privately operated EMR needs to do everything they can to resolve the issues as quickly as possible to minimise the impact and give passengers a more reliable service." Steve Jones, the East Midlands branch secretary for the campaign group Railfuture, said: "The hope is that, what this will bring about, is much better coordination and integration across the network to the benefit of passengers and freight. "The devil is in the detail, so we wait and see what the actual detail is going to be." 'Shocking summer' East Midlands Railway's new Aurora (Class 810) fleet, made by Hitachi Rail, entered service in December 2025, but it has experienced problems since then. In July, the operator announced a temporary reduction in services due to reliability and maintenance issues with the new trains. Its Intercity timetable, which runs to and from London St Pancras, was reduced to 87% , meaning some services were cancelled and others had fewer carriages, which led to delays for passengers and overcrowding on trains. The RMT union that represents East Midlands Railway staff announced strike action later in July, while the managing director of EMR stepped down amid problems with the Aurora fleet. EMR increased its Intercity operation to 92% on 1 September , following "improved operational stability" and said it now has "greater confidence" in increasing services to 96% from 19 October. James Naish, Labour MP for Rushcliffe, said: "It's been a pretty shocking summer for EMR, whether that's been to do with new trains, safety concerns and that's ultimately led to strikes. "If you keep extending contracts to the same failing companies, that isn't a great incentive for them to get better," he added. EMR has been told by the government "immediate action is required to improve both performance and passenger experience on their Intercity route". The DfT Operator - the government's public sector rail owning group - said it was working closely with EMR, Hitachi and other industry partners to fully reintroduce EMR's intercity timetable as soon as possible. Image source, East Midlands Railway Image caption, Problems with EMR's Aurora (Class 810) trains led to disruption for rail users The DfT said it would continue to monitor performance closely and hold the operator to account for delivering for passengers. It added: "Public ownership alone is not a silver bullet but a vital step towards wider rail reform and the unification of track and train under Great British Railways (GBR)." Neil O'Brien, Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, said transferring train services to public ownership would not solve the current problems with East Midlands Railway. He said: "They'll spray the trains that are currently purple, blue and they'll say we should all be very grateful for this. "They won't have any more trains, they won't be any closer to fixing the massive problems that my constituents are experiencing every single day." A spokesperson for East Midlands Railway said: "We have not received formal notification from the Department for Transport of when we will be transferred into public ownership." 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