Consultation on proposed rail changes for Chesterfield

The public consultation into East Midlands Railway December 2020 timetable is now open to passengers, businesses, stakeholders and local communities across the East Midlands route.  This includes proposed changes to and from Chesterfield.

December 2020 will see a significant change to EMR services, particularly those travelling to and from London St Pancras International.

Combined, these changes will provide:

• Up to 30 minutes’ quicker journey times for some EMR Intercity services
• Up to 13,000 additional standard class seats to and from London St Pancras every week day
• Earlier morning and later evening services
• Simpler and more consistent timetable with a more even spread of departure times
• Improved services for London Luton and East Midlands Airports.

The changes proposed for Chesterfield are:

• Peak time journey improvements into London of up to 30 minutes
• Significantly earlier arrivals into London, with the earliest service due to arrive around one hour earlier.
• Significantly later departures from Chesterfield to London St Pancras International with the final service departing an hour later.
• Increasing the number of services from London St Pancras International which arrive into Chesterfield before 11.00.  There are currently five and this will increase to seven.
• An additional evening departure from London St Pancras International to give two trains per hour throughout the evening peak.
• Later evening departures from London St Pancras International to Chesterfield, with two services planned to run later than the current final departure.
• Consistent departure times throughout the day, with particular improvement during the morning peak.
• An overall daily increase in the number of services to/from London St Pancras International
• Off peak journey times will remain similar to today with the quickest journey just over one hour 45 minutes.

There are further timetable improvements proposed which are a step towards a more substantial improvement for EMR Regional services in December 2021. A further consultation for these changes will take place towards the end of 2020.

The consultation document is split by line of route and includes a separate page for each station on the Midland Main Line. This is intended to help passengers and communities easily understand what the proposals will mean for them and their journeys.

Julian Edwards, Managing Director, East Midlands Railway, said: “Our proposals for the December 2020 timetable would deliver a step change in capacity, improve journey times and introduce a simpler and more consistent timetable.

“Although some of the changes, such as the introduction of electric services between London and Corby, are a requirement of our franchise there is still the opportunity to fine tune and improve our plans.

“We know how important a reliable and punctual railway is for the towns and cities we serve. December 2020 is a vitally important part of our promise to deliver more seats, more services and better journeys for our customers and we look forward to your feedback.”

The consultation runs until midnight on 14th February 2020. The consultation document and survey for responses are available online at www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/december2020