As a result of this strike action, the planned Intercity timetable uplift will now take place on Tuesday 1 September. Further information can be found here: https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/reducedtimetable
The RMT union has announced strike action on Sunday 30 August, Monday 31 August, Wednesday 16 September and Thursday 17 September 2026.
August Bank Holiday weekend - Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August
We advise you to only travel if your journey is essential. There will be a significantly reduced service in place to / from London over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
If travel is essential, please check your full journey, including first and last trains before travelling as services are expected to be extremely busy, and services start later and finish earlier than the current timetable.
At London St Pancras and Sheffield, queuing systems will be in place, and you may not be able to board your intended service or get a seat, so please allow extra time to complete your journey.
Rail Strikes
Customers are advised to only travel if your journey is essential. Services as expected to be extremely busy and you may not be able to board the train you planned to travel on.
EMR Intercity (to/from London St Pancras)
Services will start after 07:00 and finish before 19:00:
- One Train Per Hour between Nottingham and London St Pancras
- First departure - 08:21 Nottingham to London St Pancras
- Last departure - 16:10 Nottingham to London St Pancras
- One Train Per Hour between Sheffield/Derby and London St Pancras
- First departure from Derby - 07:57 Derby to London St Pancras
- First departure from Sheffield - 08:22 Sheffield to London St Pancras
- Last departure to London St Pancras - 15:51 Sheffield to London St Pancras
- One Train Per Hour between London St Pancras and Nottingham
- First departure - 09:00 London St Pancras to Nottingham
- Last departure - 17:05 London St Pancras to Nottingham
- One Train Per Hour between London St Pancras and Sheffield/Derby
- First departure - 09:30 London St Pancras to Sheffield
- Last departure to Sheffield - 17:02 London St Pancras to Sheffield
No Rail Replacement Bus services will be provided.
EMR Connect (to/from London St Pancras)
Services will start after 11:00 and finish before 19:00:
- One Train Per Hour between Corby and London St Pancras
- First departure - 11:39 Corby to London St Pancras
- Last departure - 17:40 Corby to London St Pancras
- One Train Per Hour between London St Pancras and Corby
- First departure - 12:14 London St Pancras to Corby
- Last departure - 17:14 London St Pancras to Corby
No Rail Replacement Bus services will be provided.
East Coast Digital Upgrade
As part of the East Coast Digital Upgrade programme, Network Rail are carrying out essential engineering work on the East Coast Mainline affecting services to / from London Kings Cross.
LNER trains will start and terminate at Peterborough, where rail replacement buses will operate to and from Bedford for onward connections with Thameslink to London St Pancras.
How does this affect EMR services?
East Midlands Railway services to / from London St Pancras are expected to see more customers than usual on days where there are no trains to or from London Kings Cross. Trains to / from London St Pancras are likely to be extremely busy, with the potential for standing room only.
A queuing system will be in place at London St Pancras and Sheffield for EMR services and it may not be possible to board your intended service, so please allow extra time at the station.
If you would normally travel with LNER you must follow LNER's travel advice and change for the Rail Replacement bus service between Bedford and Peterborough to connect with trains to / from the North and London.
Do not attempt to travel on EMR services to / from Sheffield or Nottingham as trains and seating capacity will be extremely limited because of the strike action taking place.
Below are the last connections from London to LNER destinations.
Train from St Pancras to Bedford at 09:51 arriving at 10:54 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 11:15 to Peterborough arriving at 12:35
Train from Peterborough at 12:50 to Inverness arriving at 20:10
Train from St Pancras to Bedford at 11:51 arriving at 12:54 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 13:15 to Peterborough arriving at 14:35
Train from Peterborough at 14:51 to Aberdeen arriving at Dundee 19:53 & Aberdeen at 21:11
Train from St Pancras to Bedford at 16:21 arriving at 17:24 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 17:45 to Peterborough arriving at 19:05
Train from Peterborough at 19:20 to Edinburgh
Train from St Pancras to Bedford 16:51 arriving at 17:54 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 18:15 to Peterborough arriving at 19:35
Train from Peterborough at 19:52 to Edinburgh
Train from St Pancras to Bedford 19:36 arriving at 20:40 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 21:15 to Peterborough arriving at 22:35
Train from Peterborough at 22:51 to York arriving at 00:14
Train from St Pancras to Bedford 19:36 arriving at 20:40 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 21:15 to Peterborough arriving at 22:35
Train from Peterborough at 22:51 to Newcastle
Train from St Pancras to Bedford 19:21 arriving at 20:24 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 20:45 to Peterborough arriving at 22:05
Train from Peterborough at 22:16 to Leeds arriving at 22:58
Train from St Pancras at 20:36 to Bedford arriving at 21:40 (Thameslink)
Bus from Bedford at 22:05 to Peterborough arriving at 23:25
Train from Peterborough at 23:37 to Leeds
Customers are advised to check their full journey before travelling.
Customers are advised to only travel if your journey is essential.
EMR Intercity (to/from London St Pancras)
Services will start after 07:00 and finish before 19:00:
- One Train Per Hour between Nottingham and London St Pancras
- First departure - 07:12 Nottingham to London St Pancras
- Last departure - 16:12 Nottingham to London St Pancras
- One Train Per Hour between Sheffield/Derby and London St Pancras
- First departure from Derby - 07:32 Derby to London St Pancras
- First departure from Sheffield - 09:00 Sheffield to London St Pancras
- Last departure to London St Pancras - 16:00 Sheffield to London St Pancras
- One Train Per Hour between London St Pancras and Nottingham
- First departure - 08:05 London St Pancras to Nottingham
- Last departure - 16:05 London St Pancras to Nottingham
- One Train Per Hour between London St Pancras and Sheffield/Derby
- First departure - 07:32 London St Pancras to Sheffield
- Last departure to Sheffield - 15:32 London St Pancras to Sheffield
- Last departure to Derby - 17:05 London St Pancras to Derby
No Rail Replacement Bus services will be provided.
EMR Connect (to/from London St Pancras)
Services will start after 07:00 and finish before 19:00:
- One Train Per Hour between Corby and London St Pancras
- First departure - 08:10 Corby to London St Pancras
- Last departure - 17:10 Corby to London St Pancras
- One Train Per Hour between London St Pancras and Corby
- First departure - 07:45 London St Pancras to Corby
- Last departure - 16:45 London St Pancras to Corby
No Rail Replacement Bus services will be provided.
Customers are advised to check their full journey before travelling.
We are currently assessing the impact of this industrial action on our services. We'll publish any timetable changes as soon as they are confirmed.
Please continue to check the EMR website, information in stations and social media for the latest advice and information.
We are currently assessing the impact of this industrial action on our services. We'll publish any timetable changes as soon as they are confirmed.
Please continue to check the EMR website, information in stations and social media for the latest advice and information.
FAQs for strike days
If you hold a ticket for a strike day you can travel on a different day at no extra cost as per the guidance below:
- Tickets dated Sunday 30th August can be used to travel on EMR and connecting services* on Friday 28th August, Saturday, 29th August, Tuesday 1st September or Wednesday 2nd September
- Tickets dated Sunday Monday 31st August can be used to travel on EMR and connecting services* on Friday 28th August, Saturday 29th August, Tuesday 1st September or Wednesday 2nd September
- Tickets dated Wednesday 16th September can be used to travel on EMR and connecting services* on Tuesday 15th September, Friday 18th September, Saturday 19th September, Sunday 20th September or Monday 21st September.
- Tickets dated Thursday 17th September can be used to travel on EMR and connecting services* on Tuesday 15th September, Friday 18th September, Saturday 19th September, Sunday 20th September or Monday 21st September.
*Excludes connections with Grand Central, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, Lumo.
Please note that EMR Intercity services will remain affected by timetable reductions on non-strike days. See the latest information about the reduced timetable here.
If you hold an Advance ticket for a strike day you can use it on alternative dates as outlined above without needing to change the date of your ticket. If you wish to change your ticket to another date outside of those listed above you can do so at the place of purchase. No administration fee will be applied however you may need to pay the difference between the price of your original ticket, and that of the new ticket.
Alternatively, if you no longer wish to travel you can claim a full refund at your point of purchase. No administration fee will be charged.
If you hold two Advance tickets (an outbound and a return) you can claim a refund for both legs if either of the legs is on one of the strike dates listed above.
If you purchased your ticket from EMR online, you can apply for your refund here. If you purchased your ticket from an EMR station, please return to the station within 28 days of the travel date for a refund. Find out more about applying for a refund.
If you purchased your ticket from another provider, you will need to approach them directly.
If your train is cancelled or you choose not to travel due to strike action, tickets can be changed to another date, or they can be returned for a full refund at your point of purchase. No administration fee will be charged.
If you purchased your ticket from EMR online, you can apply for your refund here. If you purchased your ticket from an EMR station, please return to the station within 28 days of the travel date for a refund. Find out more about applying for a refund.
If you purchased your ticket from another provider, you will need to approach them directly.
Alternatively, you are entitled to a fee-free change of journey if your train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled after booking.
If you have a Season ticket (Flexi, monthly or longer) and you do not travel you can claim 100% compensation through Delay Repay for strike days.
To claim Delay Repay select 'strike action' on the claim form. Find out more about Delay Repay.
If you have a Flexi ticket and would normally travel on a date now affected by strike action or the overtime ban, you may choose to travel on an alternative date within the validity of your Flexi Season Ticket instead. If you choose not to travel, or cannot travel on an alternative date within your ticket's validity, you can activate a day's travel pass on your tickets then claim delay repay, selecting 'strike action' on the claim form. Find out more about Delay Repay.
Please note tickets not activated on the strike date will not be able to claim delay repay and will only be able to claim any unused tickets before the expiry date of the ticket under the usual terms and conditions.
Weekly season tickets which have not started yet can be refunded, a £10 admin fee may apply.
To make sure that a Weekly season ticket is the best value for you, if you’re unable to travel during industrial action use National Rail Enquiries handy season ticket calculator here .
If you have an unused Return ticket, or return journey formed of 2 single tickets, and do not/ cannot make your outward journey because of the strike, you are entitled to a refund on your journey, even if the return journey is not affected by a strike. The same will be true if the return journey is planned for a day affected by a strike but the outward is not.
EMR will still offer booked Passenger Assistance in line with their current policy of 2 hour booking window.
EMR will proactively contact customers who have booked assistance on the services that are affected and will be offered a refund or the chance to reschedule their journey. We expect that trains running on strike days/ overtime ban days to be extremely busy and crowded. Our team will be available to assist all customers during the affected dates. Find out more and discuss your options here.
Advance tickets have been withdrawn from sale on the full strike day. Advance tickets are still available for overtime ban days.
There will not be a first class service on strike days.