East Midlands franchise to get new branding and new name
TRAINS running through Leicestershire on the Midland Mainline will adopt new branding and a lavender livery when the next franchise operator takes over.
East Midlands Trains service will become East Midlands Railway, shortened to EMR, when Dutch-owned Abellio takes over in August.
It was announced last April that Abellio UK would replace Stagecoach to run services north from St Pancras, including to Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough and East Midlands Parkway.
The franchise runs to 2027.
Among the promises that secured the company the contract were 80 per cent more peak-time seats on new, faster, more comfortable trains, and a total investment of more than £600 million for stations and trains.
Free wi-fi and better-value tickets were also among the improvements Midlands Mainline passengers have been promised.
The company has made a commitment to run trials of greener hydrogen fuel cells to power trains.
Abellio said it would be the biggest upgrade to the line since it was completed in 1870.
Because only the southern part of the track is being electrified, it will use a new type of bi-mode intercity train, which it said will be faster and more modern with, it said, 40 per cent more capacity.
The new identity for the franchise will include “distinct” purple and white colours that will be applied gradually on to trains, stations, websites and posters.
A spokesman said: “The colour scheme is contemporary but pays respect to the strong and proud railway heritage of the East Midlands.
“The new East Midlands Railway name has been designated as a longterm and enduring brand for this and successive East Midlands railway franchises.”
He said each carriage would have distinct markings to reflect three distinct market segments:
■ EMR Intercity: services on the Midland Mainline and London.
■ EMR Regional: longer-distance routes serving east-west ■ EMR Electrics: electric train services that will run twice hourly between London St Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway and Corby.
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 services in the East Midlands.”
He said the introduction of the EMR identity will be gradual, with the new website going live on Sunday, August 18.
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 also be given an EMR design makeover, together with station signage, leaflets and posters.
Abellio operates the ScotRail, West Midlands Railway/London Northwestern 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.