Major disruption to trains to London bank holiday weekend

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has warned of major disruption on Sunday (August 30) and bank holiday Monday (August 31) due to strike action by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

This is in addition to engineering work on the East Coast Main Line as part of the £1.4bn East Coast Digital Programme – as reported by The Press earlier this month.

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This upgrade – which will see digital in-cab signalling introduced between Welwyn and Hitchin – will affect journeys south of Peterborough towards London, with rail replacement buses set to operate for some journeys.

EMR will operate a significantly reduced timetable to and from London on both days due to the walkout, which is part of an ongoing dispute over safety concerns.

This could lead to extremely busy trains to and from London St Pancras, with reduced capacity coinciding with increased demand – which could affect people travelling from Sheffield or Nottingham.

Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director at EMR, said: “We recognise how frustrating this disruption will be for customers, particularly following the three Saturdays affected by RMT strike action earlier this month, and we are very sorry for the impact this will have on August bank holiday plans.

“We strongly advise customers to only travel to or from London if their journey is essential on Sunday 30 and Monday August 31, and to check their full journey, including first and last trains, before setting out.”

RMT members have raised concerns about safety issues on Class 810 trains, including faulty air conditioning, broken doors, and non-functioning toilets.

Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the RMT, said: “RMT is demanding that whilst these faults exist and until these trains are shown to be operating properly, they should be taken out of service.

“It is now time for EMR management to act on the safety concerns of our members.”

EMR said it is in ongoing discussions with the RMT and has met with the union six times in an effort to resolve the dispute.