EMR Reviews 

27/5/26 I was on the 9:07 a.m. train from Nottingham to Oxford.

I had a nightmare with my ticket. I'd booked Nottingham to Oxford on trainline, was directed to the wrong train/ platform, and as the train left Nottingham, I looked at my ticket which said it was to Oxford, but via Lemington Spa and not Derby and Birmingham?

I tried to find a conductor to ascertain what had happened. As I was on a charity task/ trip, I needed to get to hospitals on time for deliveries. I don't have the luxury of not being on the right train nor having delays.

I eventually managed to find Gaynor, one of your train employees who was catching a lift from Nottingham to Derby.

Although she wasn't working on the train I was on, she couldn't be helpful enough. She did her best to fathom what happened and even researched the tickets to try and help.

She spent awhile trying to sort the solution and I cant thank her enough. This is just a recognition of a great staff member that you have who was keen to assist.

On another charity trip the next week, 3/6/26 a male in the Nottinham ticket office couldn't help enough to try and find the best ticket for my complex journey. He took his time and saved the charity £100 on the tickets. I was very impressed with this EMR employee and his customer focus.

I normally find EMR staff helpful but these two stood out.

Worst train company imo

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the excellent assistance provided by one of your conductors on the 21:02 service from London King’s Cross to Sheffield on Saturday, 30 May.
Due to delays caused by an earlier train, our service arrived approximately 15 minutes late. As a result, several passengers, including myself, were at risk of missing the final connection from Derby to Matlock.
The conductor handled the situation exceptionally well. He took the time to explain the circumstances to around ten affected passengers and ensured that arrangements were made so that everyone could reach their destination safely.
In particular, he arranged for the train to make a special stop at Belper for a passenger travelling with a bicycle. As I was carrying a large suitcase and Belper was also convenient for me, I was kindly allowed to make use of this arrangement as well, which was a tremendous help.
There was also a young woman who was understandably upset about missing her connection, and I was impressed by the way the conductor reassured and encouraged her. His calm, professional, and caring manner was truly reassuring.
I do not know whether such arrangements are standard procedure when passengers miss the last connecting train, but I wanted to highlight how much I appreciated his efforts on that evening. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask for his name, but I would be grateful if you could pass on my thanks and recognition to him.

Travelled to London as a couple, at the same time, on the same train using tickets I bought at the same time, sitting next to each other.

Train got into London over 30 mins late so we claimed for late arrival.

My wife's ticket got 1/2 the compensation it should have, they paid as if it were 15 mins late

My ticket? Weeks later they refused to pay any compensation at all - a fundamentally dishonest process.

1 star is undeserving. Crowded train and no air conditioner or fans even under a 30 degree heat wave 😢. Won’t forget to mention, No WiFi, No charger ports.

A perfect experience of being moved from one train to another on a long journey from Scotland to Norwich. Super friendly staff know a system that worked impeccable. Thank you so much.

We haven’t been to London for years and booked day return tickets. About 2 hours before our booked return, we were informed that the train had been cancelled. We were given options of earlier or later trains to board.
The ticket office staff were very courteous and in moments had changed our tickets for an earlier train. The departure time came and went and eventually, we were all asked to get off the train as sadly someone had been hit by a train near Wellingborough and there would be no trains north for the next few hours. After some thinking, we realised that if we could get to Rugby, then family could drive us back to Market Harborough. Back to the ticket office and the staff saw how stressed we were. They calmly said that they could print replacement tickets from Euston to Rugby even though it was a different rail operator. They then explained how to get to Euston by Underground and went the extra mile by writing instructions on how to use the ticket machines.
We clutched that bit of paper as if our lives depended on it and managed to follow the instructions to the T. The rest of our trip home was uneventful and family were at Rugby to meet us.
BUT…what happened to all the other hundreds of passengers inconvenienced? Cancelling a train on a weekday at 8pm in the evening is unbelievable and it wasn’t until later, after speaking to regular EMR train users, that we realised that this wasn’t unusual. Old stock breaking down, before enough of the new stock was in service. Not good management!
Thanks have to go to the staff in the St Pancras ticket office that evening for keeping us sane, but I’m now very worried about a necessary day trip to London in September!

I used the app to book tickets from Chesterfield to London. The app was very laggy and randomly restarted several times, including when I was in the middle of booking tickets (on the payment screen), then when I went back the tickets had gone up in price and seats are not reserved, despite saying they will be and the same number of seats being available as before.

UPDATE: When I called EMR customer services 22/06/26), the person I got through to repeatedly spoke above me instead of allowing me to finish what I was saying. He has absolutely zero regard for my circumstances, i.e. that I will be a disabled passenger on a 1'55" minute journey from Chesterfield to London that is generally very busy (the old sardine in a tin analogy generally comes to mind when thinking about these services). His advice was to get the train and take any available seats but I can't risk doing that with my health issues. Why is it that EMR ask customs to treat their staff with respect, yet their staff have absolutely no respect or regard for customers???

I'm now waiting for a call back from a customer service manager......

As a proud East Midlander who has to travel to and from London frequently I am sadly dismayed by the service offered by East Midlands Railway.

They have to understand that they do not provide enough carriages. I am surrounded now on the Thursday 8.32pm service from St Pancras to Sheffield by people sat on the floor and stood at either end of the carriage.

This is the situation, every week, without fail. These passengers pay over £100 a time for this privilege. There will be no chance of a food and drinks trolley reaching anyone, as this will be the case all along the train. It's disgraceful, and it shows nothing but a feeling of contempt towards paying passengers who are the lifeblood of this company.

The worst thing is that if I ask people to avoid using EMR and travelling any other way, they won't be able to because of cost or inconvenience. EMR have their passengers over a barrel, and they know it, providing a service that is sadly the bare minimum to keep things in operation.

With the speed of the line between Sheffield and London, all you need are extra carriages to turn all of these negative reviews into positive ones. But right now, looking at the situation around me, it feels like you just don't care.

It's not your train staff. They are courteous, they care, and they are well aware of what's going on. They're a good bunch with their hearts very much in the right place.

But as a travel provider, which is what you are supposed to be, you need to do much, much better. Shape up, remember your purpose, and do it like you care.

Like many reviews on here if I could give zero I would.
Travel regularly on EMR (not through choice) and have to say your 1st class offering is an absolute joke and many of your first class team don't care less.
Today was an example of many. Quick to dash to check my ticket was the right one, whilst telling us that there was no food or hot drinks available so only choices were water, cake and crisps. When asked why got different answers from different staff members so at least get your story straight if you are going to lie to paying customers! Didn't give a damn. Your complaints form is riddled with problems which won't allow you to actually complain (how very convenient!) I travel on many rail companies and can without doubt state that EMR is THE WORST! I bet you don't even respond to these reviews!

I just going to sheffield with EMR train and the air conditioner wasn’t working and I really had vety hard time to breathe well in this journey i ask the staff why the aircon in not on ,she said im sorry but is some issues with the pipes she’s said the pipes are licking very bad experience 😡

7:07 to St Pancras from Kettering.

Once again EMR do not fail to be the poorest train operator in the UK.

A main line commuter train is laid on with 5 coaches, (twice this week) two of which are 1st class. The aisles are rammed with people and stood next to their stinking toilets again, at least the toilet is out of service, which is not uncommon to be fair but it still stinks and the door keeps opening because it won’t shut properly.

Meanwhile, stood on the train leaving Kettering you note two of their brand spanking new trains with capacity held in a siding for some reason, which I’m sure there is but they have been there for days

I am waiting for the revenue office or whatever they are called to ask for my very expensive season ticket to make sure I have paid for what is an appalling service.

It’s not just their customer service that dyer they also obviously have scant regard for their staff who have to tolerate appalling working conditions dealing with faulty services and numerous very disgruntled passengers.

This train company absolutely needs their franchise removed, they are unfit to operate a train company.

The CEO should atleast resign out of pure embarrassment and go and sit on his/her stupid purple hard cushion, because that’s what it’s like on their trains.

Very uncomfortable and filthy.

Not having windows that actually function or air conditioning in 2026 is mental.

First time using a train for 20 years and what a shambles. Booked online 15 minutes before travel only to find train had been cancelled and next train was over an hour later (and delayed).
Site wouldn't accept password even though I just registered, couldn't use forgotten password as site wouldn't send a reset email.
Delay repay website wouldn't accept claim as recaptcha refused to work (exceeded quota??). Phone line not accepting enquiries regarding delay repay!!!
THis company is a joke and it needs to have its licence revoked. I will never use it again. Look at the other reviews and make up your own mind.

Delay repay is a joke. Despite my ticket being online having proof of Delay AND the estimated amount for a refund, it wants you to go through every detail online. Okay. But then when I put in my card details it just froze and then wanted me to start over. It's deliberate to get people not to claim.

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for Andrew, the train manager on my recent journey from London to Sheffield. I was having a bit of a stressful travel day, and Andrew went completely out of his way to be understanding, accommodating, and incredibly helpful. He is an absolute credit to your team, not only highly professional but a genuinely lovely, kind person who knows how to look after passengers. Excellent customer service like his is rare and deserves to be recognized!

Very disappointed with my experience with East Midlands Railway.

My partner and I travelled from Leicester to London on 25 April 2026 and were forced to stand for the entire journey despite paying £110.20 for our tickets. I am disabled and my partner is 64 years old, so this was extremely uncomfortable.

The train was so overcrowded that an announcement was made on board advising passengers to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the conditions. Despite this, after weeks of emails and chasing for a response, I was eventually told that no compensation would be offered.

What has disappointed me most is not just the overcrowding, but the length of time it took to deal with my complaint and the lack of consideration given to my disability and the circumstances of the journey.

Poor customer service and a very frustrating experience.

Has to be hands down the worst rail line in the land! Two train cancellations in both directions leading to missed meetings. The claims website is clearly a ploy to not compensate passengers as numerous attempts to submit a claim were unsuccessful. Filthy and outdated trains, toilet bins filled to the brim with tissue paper. Then there’s the cheek to charge exorbitant prices - you could literally write a full scroll of malpractice. I’m absolutely mortified that this appears to be the EMR modus operandi, judging by the amount of similar negative service reviews.

How regulators have not stepped in to shut this abysmal operation down is beyond comprehension. The CEO is clearly out of their depth.

To begin with we arrived at the platform three minutes before it was due to leave, after jetting it through the train station an employee called out as we approached the train “ it’s too late!” Only then when we stopped in our tracks and looked up at the board did the doors start flashing and shut, she stopped us when we could have fully made the train and told us we could get the next one and promptly walked away with no explanation, then we went to the window where the next employee was just like “ yeah yeah get the next one” which was an hour away, an hour later we are on the next train and try to explain the situation to the third employee “ We were told it would be okay to get this train” his dead eyed response “ it’s not okay unless I say so” fast forward to the fourth employee checking our tickets once again “ yeah yeah I’ve heard about you two” as if our reputations proceeded us unfavourably..honestly I don’t know if EMR employees are chosen particularly for their lack of compassion and people skills but it seems to me it must be part of the job description, we’ve decided, when possible in the future… we are taking the bus.

Went in Skegness Train station whilst on holiday to book a return train to Lincoln, the lady on the booking desk was so pleasant and helpful we couldn't let our experience go without sending an email to EMR to pass on our gratitude.