General information | |
---|---|
Location | Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Borough of Rushcliffe England |
Coordinates | 52°51′45″N1°15′48″W / 52.8625°N 1.2632°W |
Grid reference | SK496296 |
Managed by | East Midlands Railway |
Platforms | 4 |
Other information | |
Station code | EMD |
Classification | DfT category C1 |
Key dates | |
26 January 2009 | Opened |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 0.361 million |
Interchange | 19,949 |
2019/20 | 0.343 million |
Interchange | 19,019 |
2020/21 | 39,350 |
Interchange | 3,899 |
2021/22 | 0.196 million |
Interchange | 13,105 |
2022/23 | 0.310 million |
Interchange | 12,120 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
East Midlands Parkway railway station is located north of Ratcliffe-on-Soar on the Midland Main Line in the East Midlands of England. It provides park and ride facilities for rail passengers on the routes from Leicester to Derby and Nottingham. It is also the closest station to East Midlands Airport,some 4 miles (6.4 km) away,but without public transport link.
The station lies in south-west Nottinghamshire,close to the boundaries with Leicestershire and Derbyshire,between the stations at Loughborough,Long Eaton and Attenborough. When it opened,there was a little-used shuttle bus from the station to the airport,but this ceased not long afterwards. An hourly minibus service was re-introduced in 2015 [1] but later withdrawn. The main station building and the 850-vehicle car park are to the west of the line,opposite Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. Road access is via the A453,which provides a link to the nearby M1 motorway.
East Midlands Parkway is located near the village of Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire,close to the River Trent. Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is next to the railway on the eastern side. The station is on the Midland Main Line,which runs from London to Nottingham and Sheffield,118 miles 20 chains (190.30 km) from the London terminus at London St Pancras International. [2] Just north of the station is Trent Junction,where the lines to Nottingham and Sheffield (via Derby) diverge. There are four platforms,two serving the western,"fast" lines,and two serving the eastern,"slow" lines.
Fears were raised by various bodies including East Midlands Airport,about the service pattern proposed for the new station in 2008. [3]
Donington Park motor racing circuit is nearby,and its then-owners expressed their desire for spectators to use the station or coach services when travelling to the circuit. [4] [5] The owners were also in support of any future light rail transport to East Midlands Airport itself.
All trains serving the station are operated by East Midlands Railway. The service pattern from London sees two northbound trains per hour (one each to Sheffield and to Nottingham),which leave within seven minutes of each other,and two per hour to London,which leave within 10 minutes of each other. [6] The local service between Leicester and Lincoln Central via Nottingham also calls here once each way every hour.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
East Midlands Railway | ||||
East Midlands Railway | ||||
Limited service |
Building work commenced on the new £25.5 million station on 19 December 2007. It was due to be completed by 14 December 2008,but did not finally open until 26 January 2009. [7]
The train operating company Midland Mainline was,until October 2006,responsible for the project,which remained in the planning stages for several years for the want of a small piece of land needed for the project. Responsibility was then transferred to Network Rail which anticipated expenditure of £5 million in 2006/07 and £8 million in 2007/08. [8]
In its first year of operation the station was used by over 250,000 passengers. [9]
People in nearby towns including Loughborough voiced their concerns that the opening of the station could lead to the reduction in the number of trains stopping there,although this was denied by former operator Midland Mainline. Another concern was the possible withdrawal of the existing bus service from Loughborough station to East Midlands Airport. A service from Loughborough to the airport (now extended to start from Leicester) is still running;however,since 25 April 2010,it has ceased to serve Loughborough railway station. [10] As a result,there are no longer any direct late-night or early-morning bus services between the railway station and the town centre,with only a limited (every 40 minutes) service operating on Sundays.
To mark the first year of operation of the station,East Midlands Trains offered unlimited travel from the station for the day on Saturday 30 January 2010 under the promotional 'Red Dot Day' banner. [11] The 850 space car park was full for the first time since the station opened and 2,787 passengers travelled. [12] The station saw 182,412 journeys in its first full year of operation.
The station has been criticised as being poorly located.[ citation needed ] In 2011-12,East Midlands Parkway attracted just over one third of the projected annual passengers. [13]
East Midlands Parkway is a staffed station with four platforms and a ticket office,which is open 06:00–19:30 on Mondays to Saturdays and 07:30–19:30 on Sundays. Other facilities include:
When opened 2009, East Midlands Parkway was one of the greenest stations in the United Kingdom. [14] The station was built using locally sourced and recycled materials and uses a ground-source heating system. [14]
In late 2009, East Midlands Parkway became a penalty fare station, so a valid ticket or permit to travel must be shown when requested.
From 30 March 2009, the station has been used as an interchange station for combined multi-modal journeys using Megabus-branded services run by Stagecoach (the operators of both East Midlands Trains and of Megabus). The MegabusPlus services transport passengers from cities in the north of England to East Midlands Parkway, where passengers transfer to rail for the service to London. [15]
Routes operated under the MegabusPlus brand are to/from:
The Midland Main Line is not electrified north of Kettering; therefore, all services are operated by diesel trains. This was set to change by 2019, when a scheme to electrify the remainder of the line had been due to be completed. This, along with increased line speeds, would have meant that the station would have been under 80 minutes from the capital. [16] However, the electrification scheme was cancelled in 2017. [17]
In November 2021 the Government announced the abandonment of most of the eastern leg High Speed 2 and the Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme under the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (IRP). As part of this the earlier proposal for the HS2 East Midlands Hub station on the Toton sidings site further north has been shelved and instead, the eastern leg of HS2 will connect to the Midland Line at a junction to the south of East Midlands Parkway. This will allow HS2 services to reach Derby and Nottingham directly, the absence of which was a criticism of the previous plan. The IRP also confirmed the rest of the Midland Line would be electrified, reversing a previous decision to cancel electrification.
In October 2023 it was announced that the Eastern Leg of HS2 is cancelled, along with the Birmingham to Manchester line. [18] It will therefore not reach East Midlands Parkway. However the Midlands Rail Hub will go ahead, this will increase the number of trains from the East Midlands to Birmingham by routing more trains to Birmingham Moor Street. [19]
Midland Mainline was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the Midland Main Line franchise between April 1996 and November 2007. It was owned by the British transport company National Express.
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield.
Sheffield station is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Supertram stop. In 2017–18, the station was the 43rd-busiest in the UK and the 15th-busiest outside London.
Leicester railway station is a mainline railway station in the city of Leicester in Leicestershire, England. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway and owned by Network Rail. The station is served by CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.
Chesterfield railway station serves the market town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line. Four tracks pass through the station which has three platforms. It is currently operated by East Midlands Railway.
Bedford railway station is the larger of two railway stations in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands and the terminus of the Marston Vale line from Bletchley through Bedford St Johns.
Syston railway station is a railway station serving the town of Syston in Leicestershire, England. The station is on the Midland Main Line from Leicester to Loughborough, 103 miles 63 chains (167.0 km) down the line from London St Pancras.
Luton Airport Parkway railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving south Luton and Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. The station is situated in Luton's Park Town district, being 29.27 miles (47.11 km) from London St Pancras between Harpenden to the south and Luton to the north. Its three-letter station code is LTN, also the IATA code for the airport.
Luton railway station is located in the town centre of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is about three minutes' walk from The Mall Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by Thameslink.
Wellingborough railway station is a Grade II listed station located in the market town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line and is 65 miles (104 km) from London St. Pancras. The station is operated by East Midlands Railway, which is also the primary operator serving the station with passenger services under the Luton Airport Express brand.
Kettering railway station serves the town of Kettering in Northamptonshire, England. It lies south-west of the town centre, on the Midland Main Line, 71 miles (115 km) north of London St. Pancras.
Market Harborough railway station is a Grade II listed station which serves the town of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, England. It is situated to the east of the town centre and lies on the Midland Main Line, 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Leicester.
Loughborough railway station is a Grade II listed railway station in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, on the Midland Main Line, 111 miles (179 km) north of London St Pancras. The station is north-east of the town centre.
Corby railway station, owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, is in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. The current station, opened on 23 February 2009, replaces an earlier one dating from 1879, first closed on 18 April 1966 but reopened between 1987 and 1990.
Oakham railway station serves the county town of Oakham in Rutland, England. The station is situated almost halfway between Leicester – 27 miles (43 km) to the west – and Peterborough – 25 miles (40 km) eastward on the Syston and Peterborough Railway, the line is the Birmingham to Peterborough Line.
Melton Mowbray railway station serves the market town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and operated by East Midlands Railway, though CrossCountry operates most of the services as part of its Birmingham New Street to Stansted Airport route. The station is on the route of the Syston and Peterborough Railway, which is now part of the Birmingham to Peterborough Line. It has a ticket office, which is staffed part-time, a car park, and help points for times when no staff are present.
The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railway running from Sheffield in the North of England, southwards through Nottingham and Leicester to Marylebone in London.
The Midlands Express was one of the three flagship named passenger trains operated by Midland Mainline and now East Midlands Trains. This train ran along the Midland Main Line and was operated using an InterCity 125.
East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019.
Nottingham is the seventh largest conurbation in the United Kingdom; despite this, the city's transport system was deemed to be poor for its size in the 1980s. In the early twenty-first century, the UK government invested heavily in the transport network of Nottingham, which has led to the re-opening of the Robin Hood Line and the construction of a light rail system, Nottingham Express Transit.
... introducing a new MegabusPlus service. This will transport passengers from town and cities in the North to East Midlands Parkway, where they will complete their journeys south by train.