Sheffield-London St Pancras trains lengthened as East Midlands Railway increases seats to meet demand

Extra carriages are being added starting this week to trains serving the route at the busiest times, with some trains being doubled in length, after the operator said passenger numbers had bounced back since the early days of the Covid pandemic.

The services affected include:

Weekday services

7am Sheffield – St Pancras – 9 carriages compared to 5 before

5.02pm St Pancras – Sheffield – 10 carriages compared to 5 before

7.37pm Sheffield – St Pancras – 10 carriages compared to 5 before

Saturday services

7.37pm Sheffield – St Pancras – 9 carriages compared to 5 before

Sunday services

9.30am St Pancras – Sheffield – 10 carriages compared to 5 before

5.32pm St Pancras – Sheffield – 10 carriages compared to 5 before

Paul Barnfield, EMR’s operations director, said: “Over the past six months we have seen demand rise quickly in separate and specific areas of our timetable, with weekend services proving to be popular. Following detailed analysis, we have identified some key services which we can strengthen – helping to offer passengers more seats at the times they want.

“As well as weekend services, we are also making some targeted weekday improvements on busier services.”

EMR is also reinstating 22 regional services as part of its December timetable, which it said would be introduced in two stages, with the majority of services being reinstated from Monday, December 13 this year, and the remainder from Monday, January 3, 2022.

To view the full timetable, visit: https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/timetables.