New franchise: How would you improve East Midlands rail services?

Passengers, businesses and local councils are having their say on how new providers of the East Midlands rail network can improve services.

A Department for Transport public consultation on the new franchise, which is expected to start in August 2019, is taking place until Wednesday, October 11.

People can give their feedback on the current service by visiting the DfT website here.

Members of the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee on Lincolnshire County Council will be discussing the council’s response to the consultation at its meeting Monday 18 September.

Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, said: “The council has been lobbying hard for better train services over the last few years, and there have been a lot of improvements in that time.

“For example, there has been a significant increase in the number of stops on the Lincoln to Nottingham line. In fact, the number of services across a typical week at Hykeham has increased by around 60% over the last two and a half years.

“In addition, the county council itself has helped improve Hykeham and Swinderby stations through our Access Lincoln programme.

“All this has led to almost a 23% rise in passenger numbers over a 10 year period, with 5.2m people using Lincolnshire stations in 2015/16.

“And there are other improvements on the horizon. New direct services between Lincoln and London are due to launch in May 2019, and improved Sunday services between Lincoln and Sheffield are set to start later this next year.

“Now, we want to build on that momentum. The new East Midlands franchise covers the vast majority train services across Lincolnshire, and we want to make sure we get a fair deal.

“For example, one thing we’d particularly like to see is increased passengers services along the joint-line between Peterborough and Doncaster, which has recently been upgraded. There’s also real potential for quicker journeys along this route, linking Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln and Gainsborough

“In addition, we’d like to see an end to the over-crowding that plagues some of our services with new, modern trains offering improved facilities such free wi-i and charging sockets.

“These types of improvements wouldn’t just make life more convenient for rail passengers – they would have significant economic benefits as well.

“We’ll be pushing for the best possible service for Lincolnshire, and it would be great if we had the local businesses and communities behind us too.”