Rail firm disputes Sheffield star Dan Walker's claim 'not a single train has arrived on time'
“Is it just EMR or is everyone facing the same issues?”
A rail firm has disputed Sheffield TV star Dan Walker’s claim that “not a single train I have been on in the last three months has arrived on time”.
East Midlands Railway said the Channel 5 newsreader said was “incorrect” about his journeys between Sheffield and London and it was improving performance.
The firm responded out after a frustrated Dan complained on Facebook on July 30.
He wrote: “Dear East Midlands Railway,
“I know it’s tough keeping things on time, especially when the weather is so hot. I know you are trying to keep passengers happy and, I have to say your staff are always courteous and apologetic but…as someone who travels from Sheffield to London (and back) twice a week, it does seem strange that not a single train I have been on in the last 3 months has arrived on time.
“About 1 in 5 have left on time but the last one that arrived when advertised was back in April.
“Everyone is paying more for their tickets than ever before but the service never seems to improve.
“Is it just EMR or is everyone facing the same issues?”
EMR caused a storm in July when it cut services between Sheffield and London due to reliability issues with Hitachi Rail’s new Class 810 fleet and maintenance issues with the existing Class 222 fleet.
The embattled company has also been hit by strikes by the RMT union over safety on the 810 fleet - which it claims has been operating “with a significant number of faults”.
On June 19, an East Midlands Railway driver died when two EMR passenger trains collided on the Midland Main Line near Elstow, just south of Bedford,
On Dan’s claim that “everyone is paying more”, EMR said ticket prices are controlled by government and have been frozen until March 2027.
Hundreds of people responded to Dan’s post with both positive and negative experiences on the trains.
Some said they now travelled to Doncaster to catch an LNER train to the capital instead of travelling from Sheffield.