Friday, 21 June 2019
Abellio is preparing to start operating East Midlands Railway in August and has been briefing its plans to invest £600 million on brand new bi-mode intercity trains and faster, modern, refurbished trains across the East Midlands to stakeholders including East Midlands Councils, Transport for the East Midlands, Community Rail Partnerships and rail user groups.
As well as improved stations, faster journey times and 40% more capacity into cities like Nottingham, the company has also announced a new identity for the franchise.
The East Midlands Railway brand identity will be introduced from 18 August and will be known as 'EMR' It will have distinct purple and white branding colours that will be applied gradually onto trains, stations, websites and posters.
Stewart Fox-Mills, Abellio’s Commercial Director, said: "We are investing £600 million on improving the railway across the East Midlands and this will include a striking new and durable brand for our new East Midlands Railway. It is the first demonstration of our commitment to deliver a long-term step change in the quality of rail service in the East Midlands".
For more information, please get in touch with Edward Funnell, Stakeholder Engagement Advisor, on 07717 806 720, [email protected]
Notes to editors
1. The new East Midlands Railway brand
Example 1 - Official name
EAST MIDLANDS RAILWAY
Example 2 – How it will be known
Example 3 – How it will look on trains
The EMR brand has white lettering with a lavender shadow as its primary logo colours. The colour scheme is contemporary but pays respect to the strong and proud railway heritage of the East Midlands. Each train carriage will have distinct markings to reflect three distinct market segments:
- EMR Intercity – services on the Midland Main Line from cities like Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby to London via Leicester and Kettering
- EMR Regional – serving longer distance East-West routes such as Nottingham to Lincoln, Crewe to Derby and Norwich to Liverpool
- EMR Electrics – electric train services that will run twice hourly between London St Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway and Corby
The introduction of the EMR identity will be gradual. The first item to change overnight on Sunday 18 August will be the introduction of a new EMR website. Trains will be rebranded in stages from 2020 through to December 2022. In the meantime, trains will receive an ‘interim’ branding with 'EMR' inscribed on the sides of many carriages. Stations will be given an EMR design makeover together with station signage, leaflets and posters.
The new East Midlands Railway name has been designated as a long term and enduring brand for this and successive East Midlands railway franchises.
2. About Abellio
Abellio UK is a transport operating company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways). Abellio operates the ScotRail, West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway and Greater Anglia franchises, and runs the Merseyrail concession in a 50:50 joint venture with Serco. It also runs eight per cent of London buses through Abellio London.
Abellio is currently overseeing more than £3bn of investment into new trains, making it a force for progress and prosperity in the UK. Our driving purpose is delivering easier journeys for our customers, every day.
For more information, visit: abellio.com