Assisted travel

Our trained staff are ready to help you select and reserve the most appropriate seating for your needs, whether that’s an accessible seat or a space for your wheelchair. On our London route you can travel in your wheelchair in Standard or First Class.

We recommend reserving your seat or wheelchair space before you travel where possible. We offer reservation services on our London route, and you can book the wheelchair space and companion seat on our Liverpool to Norwich and Skegness routes.

Call us on 08000 11 33 23 . Reservations can be made up to 23:59 on the day before you travel.

Wheelchairs

There are spaces for wheelchairs on all EMR trains. You can bring your wheelchair on board as long as it’s:

• No more than 700mm wide
• No more than 1200mm long
• No more than 300kg in weight, including passenger

Mobility scooters

Powered mobility scooters are often unsuitable to be taken on board trains. For safety reasons, you will only be allowed to bring an unfolded mobility scooter onto our services if you hold a Scooter Card.

You can apply for a Scooter Card if your scooter:

• Triangular footprint that has one or two wheels at the front which are close together

  - Is no more than 1200mm long and 700mm wide
  - Weighs no more than 300kg, including passenger
  - Has a maximum speed of 4mph
  - Has anti-tip wheels fitted to the rear
  - Has a free-wheeling facility for use in case of power failure
  - has sealed batteries

• Square footprint with four wheels spaced evenly apart

  - is no more than 1050mm long and 500mm wide
  - Weighs no more than 300kg, including passenger
  - Has a maximum speed of 4mph
  - Has anti-tip wheels fitted to the rear
  - Has a free-wheeling facility for use in case of power failure
  - has sealed batteries

View our Mobility Scooter Policy (PDF)

Not sure of the answers? Check details of your mobility scooter at ridc.org.uk

To apply for a scooter card please contact us on 08000 11 33 23 or use the form here.

Assistance dogs are welcome to travel on EMR trains, free of charge. You can travel in any part of the train with your assistance dog.

If you book Passenger Assistance and tell us that you have an assistance dog when you book, we can make sure staff providing assistance are ready to help.

If you don’t utilise your assistance dog’s harness during travel, we recommend adjusting or removing the harness during the journey – this will give you and your dog both more space and prevent obstruction.

Assistance Dog Under Seat Card

We support the Assistance Dog Under Seat Card, which is part of an industry-wide initiative supporting people with assistance dogs.

The laminated card helps explain to other passengers why an assistance dog needs to sit under an unoccupied seat. It can be placed on the seat next to the handler to indicate that the seat and the space underneath should be kept free and is particularly useful on services where seats cannot be reserved in advance.

This card can be requested by calling our Customer Service Centre on 08000 11 33 23 , by emailing [email protected] , or by submitting a form on our Customer Relations page.

Alternatively, you can download and print your own card.

Download now

Disabled Persons Railcard

If you have a disability, the Disabled Persons Railcard gives you up to a third off most rail fares. One friend travelling with you can also travel at the reduced fare.

Find out more and apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard

Senior Railcard

If you’re over 60, the Senior Railcard gives you discounts of up to a third on most rail tickets.

Find out more and buy a Senior Railcard

No railcard? You may still be able to get a discounted ticket. Buy from the ticket office at our staffed stations, or on-board.

Registered as visually impaired

If you’re registered as visually impaired and travelling with a companion, you can get the following discounts off tickets for both of you:

• First/Standard Anytime Single or Return – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Single – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Return – 50% off

You’ll need to show a document confirming your disability, issued by a recognised institution such as Social Services Department, Local Authority, Guide Dog Ownership certificate, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) or St Dunstans.

But if you’re visually impaired and travelling alone, you’ll need to hold a railcard to be eligible for a discount.

If you’re visually impaired and travel regularly on the same route, you can get an adult Season ticket that allows a companion to travel with you for no additional cost. A different companion may travel on different days.

Wheelchair users

If you’re travelling in your own wheelchair throughout your journey on our trains and don’t hold a railcard, you can get the following discounts on Anytime tickets:

• First/Standard Anytime Single or Return – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Single – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Return – 50% off

The same discount will apply to one companion travelling with you.

We ensure accessibility information about our stations is readily available and up-to-date:

• Check accessibility information, temporary station changes and changes to journeys on our on our station pages
• Fully accessible stations are marked on our route map
• Download the table of facilities at every EMR station (PDF)
• View station accessibility map for all stations across Britain

Step-free access at stations

To help you plan your journey, our stations fall within three step-free access categories.

• Category A - This station has step-free access to all platforms/the platform
• Category B - This station has a degree of step-free access to all platforms, which may be in both directions or in one direction only - please check details
• Category C - This station does not have step-free access to any platform

There are dedicated meeting points at our main stations, listed here. Please get to the station at least 20 minutes before your departure time.

Travelling from a smaller station? The meeting point is at the ticket office.

You can find more information on our individual station pages , including:

• Wheelchair accessibility
• Accessible toilets
• Opening times for staff assistance
• Car parking and onward travel information

To ensure accessibility information about our trains is readily available and up-to-date, we publish a summary of general accessibility information for our different train types, and the routes they're normally scheduled to run on. From staff assistance and boarding ramps to wheelchair accessible toilets and priority seating, find out more about the accessibility of our trains here .

If you require passenger assistance, we can help with your luggage, we will help you with an item of hand luggage (something you can place on your lap) and up to two larger items, such as a suitcase. Our staff are trained in manual handling and will lift or pull luggage that would not cause them injury.

Any additional luggage or bulky luggage must be transported separately, for advice on what you can take on board please view the National Rail Conditions of Travel section 23 .

We have been working with Communication Access UK to develop TALK passenger assistance cards, which can help you communicate with our teams. There are lots of different types of cards to choose from, for a range of common questions we receive from our customers. Apply for your cards here.

we have now started to introduce Accessibility Maps to outline all the facilities available at stations along our routes. Click here to view the available maps.

If you booked Passenger Assist but did not receive the support you needed, we will provide you with appropriate redress for your journey. Redress may include an apology, another journey or goodwill gesture, financial compensation, or a combination of each. We will be happy to support you with your claim, and we will consider each claim on its individual merits. You can make a claim at www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/form/customer-relations or by calling 08000 11 33 23 .

For each claim, we will provide you with a full explanation, including why you didn’t receive the assistance you were expecting and what action we will take so it doesn’t happen again.

You only need to make one claim if your journey involved more than one train company, and we will ask your permission to send your claim to another company if this is in your best interest. This may be because you were travelling with another operator when the assistance failed and they will provide redress with a full explanation, including steps being taken.

Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, we will consider all compensation claims for any losses or extra costs caused by a service failure. This will not affect your legal right to make claims under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which also applies to us. You cannot claim compensation for the same losses twice, for example under both our claims process and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Widgit symbol-friendly means text supported by simple picture symbols to help people understand written information more easily. We've created symbol-friendly guides for customers travelling from our stations.

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