Portugal Colonial - East Midlands Railway warns of bank holiday disruption at St Pancras

East Midlands Railway has advised passengers to travel only when essential on Sunday, August 30, and bank holiday Monday, August 31, because members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will strike over safety concerns.

One train per hour will operate between London St Pancras and Sheffield, Nottingham and Corby on both days. Services will start at 08:00 and end at 19:00, with no replacement buses. Queuing systems are planned at St Pancras and Sheffield, and passengers may have to stand.

Demand is expected to rise further on Sunday because no London North Eastern Railway trains will operate between London King’s Cross and Peterborough during Network Rail digital-signalling work. EMR asked travellers to check first and last services, allow extra time and consider travelling on Saturday or Tuesday.

The RMT said members had been instructed not to work a Class 810 train if faults on its list remained, including failed air conditioning, door problems and non-working toilets. General secretary Eddie Dempsey said affected trains should be withdrawn until they operated properly and union representatives would continue discussions with EMR and manufacturer Hitachi.

EMR customer experience director Philippa Cresswell apologised for the disruption and said the company had met the union six times in an effort to resolve the issues. The action follows three Saturdays of RMT strikes earlier in August.

F.Cardoso--PC