EMR brings back Skegness summer Saturday specials

EAST MIDLANDS Railway will be running Class 180s on summer Saturdays from Derby to Skegness between July 23 and September 19 to provide additional capacity to the popular seaside resort on the east coast of Lincolnshire.

Services on the Poacher Line between Nottingham and Skegness are usually in the hands of the EMR Class 156 fleet, but customer demand during the summer – particularly on Saturdays – means that for many years additional services have been operated.

For many years EMR, and East Midlands Trains before it, operated HSTS along the route on special workings, but all of the HSTS have now been removed from the EMR network, hence the reason for now using Class 180s.

EMR says the new summer Saturday service will start from Derby, as opposed to the usual Nottingham, and two trains will be operated from

Derby each Saturday, starting at 07.58 and 09.23, with the return workings being 11.42 and 13.44 from Skegness. Additionally, four services that were removed from the timetable due to low demand were reintroduced from the start of the new summer timetable on May 15.

These are the 08.46 and 13.46 services between Nottingham and Skegness, and the 11.14 and 16.14 departures from Skegness to Nottingham.

EMR customer services director Neil Grabham said: “Our Skegness route is very popular in the summer and every year we help thousands of families as they head to the coast to enjoy all the treats the seaside getaway can offer.

“The Class 180 Intercity-style trains will offer customers more luggage room, while the increase of the summer services will also provide people more options of when to travel.”

Kevin Delaney EMR is operating its Class 180 fleet on two additional Saturday return workings between Derby, Nottingham, and Skegness between July 23 and September 19 to provide additional capacity for passengers travelling to and from the popular seaside resort. In the past these services have been worked by HSTS, although all of the EMR HST fleet has now been retired. On August 8, 2020, a Derby to Skegness HST summer Saturday working passes through Heckington with now-preserved 43089 at the helm.