EMR Reviews 

Absolutely dreadful service. Trains are constantly being cancelled or delayed for what seem like made-up excuses. Honestly, it's time to step aside and let another company take over. Enough is enough – stop making passengers suffer.

32 degrees outside no air conditioning at all small children crying parents far from happy. Refusing to open a window absaloutly ridiculous behaviour the heat in this train is registering 41 degrees its absaloutly obscene. These trains should not be in service at any time its a absaloute s£#t show disgusting unclean filthy service.

Don’t bother, absolutely incompetent. Everything’s either delayed or cancelled. I will NEVER, EVER use them again. Cheaper, more comfortable and more reliable to drive.

If I could give 0. I’ve been using EMR Nottingham to London service for years and it’s become worse over time. Trains get cancelled just before boarding. Trains are old and slow. Sometimes you might not get a seat. They need to be replaced.

Every time travelling with EMR is such a bad experience:

- Outdated Trains
- ALWAYS late or delayed
- Very rude staff
- Delay compensation is a pain to claim
- Constantly cancelling or terminating routes out of nowhere

Absolutely horrendous. Currently on the service form Grantham to Skegness and feel like I'm in an oven. It's a good job it's not busy other wise there would most likely be people passing out. No air flow what so ever. Something needs to be done

Train cancelled ( as always ) replacement bus shows it’s traveling yet never turned up

The staff on our train journey to London were happy and very helpful, Derby station was clean and well kept we watched as staff kindly helped less able people onto the train nothing was too much trouble. The cleaning lady was wonderful the toilets were very well kept clean and comfortable. On our return journey all trains back from st.pancras to Derby were cancelled but the staff were again wonderful explaining exactly what to do and where to go, it was one of the hottest days but they kept their cool and every member of staff were helpful, well done e.m.e.r

EMR - I’ll say one thing for them they’re consistent in their appalling service.
Multiple trains cancelled, seat reservations non existent, staff unapologetic and train filthy. And yet we’re still paying an exorbitant amount. Renationalise ASAP!

The first class carriages are nice, not exceptional and couldn’t see any first class lounges at the train station. Spacious, but only soft drinks offered, no alcohol, no hot food, just snack boxes, and ‘snacks’ only offered food once, drinks twice- LNER far better first class. The standard coaches were like cattle markets - dreadful

Have to go through this ordeal 3 times a week. With broken Aircon, toilets don't work, interior smells. Excuses galore but have ticket attendant trying very hard passengers to fine without valid tickets. Invest on the trains not extra income. The license should be taken away.

In addition to the train running on time (nottingham - Newark) it was very clean and comfortable and the highlight was the extremely polite, courteous and kind ticket inspector who had a word with everyone making us feel like we were not just a number. It made my journey to see someone who was not only good at his job but went the extra mile to make sure we enjoyed our journey. He is a credit to the service as well as himself. Full marks to booking process as well and staff behind the ticket barriers who helped me navigate through a new method - LMP

My Husband and I had been to Cornwall on the train as part of his 70th Birthday celebrations. Unfortunately our return train was inadvertently delayed and when we arrived at Paddington it gave us a really short window to get across to St. Pancras to catch our connection back to Wellingborough at 4.30pm.
I suffer from siatic nerve pain in my leg which makes it painful to walk too far too quickly. We raced as fast as was practicable a d arrived at the platform to see our train just leaving. We had missed it by one minute! I could have cried....my leg was so painful and I just didn't want to have to sort out fresh tickets for another train and have to wait. I spoke to a staff member who referred me to a guy who sorts problems for EMR.
He listened to my story and was extremely empathetic. He asked to see out tickets and then wrote out a chitty that would enable us to catch the express EMR train to Sheffield whose first stop was Wellingborough. It was leaving in 10 minutes. We boarded the train and it meant I would rest my leg.
This guy was amazing! He went above and beyond normal customer service. He did not put up any barriers and didn't try to be a'Jobsworth' like some people. If only we could have more people like him when we find ourselves in difficult situations. EMR have restored my faith in mankind! Well done and I most certainly travel with your company again.

Traveled from Chesterfield to London on 2 July 2026. Two trains ahead of us from Nottingham had been cancelled so there were crowds of people wanting to get on our train. People were standing and sitting on the floor. We had booked first class but no reserved seating was available and because of the overcrowding there was no first class service either. The air con was not working on the journey down. The same happened on our return journey but this service was over half an hour late. We had two people standing over us. Both journeys you couldn’t get to the buffet car because of people sitting on the floor. Why do EMR get away with not refunding people for a service that they don’t receive. We booked first class thinking we’d at least receive a drink and a biscuit or piece of cake. The shambles at the gate waiting to board the train is one that I don’t want to repeat. I feel for those people that need to travel by tran for work

I haven't travelled on a train for many years, and to be honest l feared the worst. But what a glorious surprise. The train was impeccable inside and out. And the staff, on the train and particularly at East Midlands Parkway station were unbelievably helpful. Shout out to EMR.

I do a daily commute to London from the Midlands and to say EMR are a disgrace is an understatement. They are spectacular failures in every sense.

Firstly, when boarding a train AT LEAST one of the following FOUR excuses are in play:

1) We are sorry but we have a short-formed service today; NO - you are short-formed EVERYDAY stop making out as if it's a one off. It costs you less to run a five-carriage train but we're still paying for what is supposed to be an extended service. The over-crowding this leads to on trains is inhumane.

2) We are sorry but the seat reservation computer is down; utter tripe - it's permanently broken on all trains. Leads to absolute misery for customers who think they have secured a seat only for them to be forced to sit on the fold-down seats opposite the toilets which have never been cleaned

3) We are sorry but the air-conditioning doesn't work; it's one of the most expensive rail journeys on a mile for mile basis in the whole of Europe and you can't put on trains which have air conditioning in them?!

4) We are sorry for the cancellation - best excuses range from no driver to more trains than usual being out of action for repair

To top it off the trolley staff do not shower, they stink so bad it makes you think the toilet might offer respite.

Throw into the mix they make getting refunds the most admin heavy process as well as the sky high prices we have to pay for a third world service - they should not be in business.

21.05 from St Pancras to Nottingham, 1 July, cancelled AGAIN. Third time this has happened to me recently. So everyone crowds onto the Sheffield train. I have to get to Sheffield and then take a train back to Nottingham. It's late, I'm tired. Because the train is so crowded 1st class (which I buy because I want some peace and quiet and a table to work at) has a group of 6 blokes with 2nd class tickets, making a hell of a noise, drinking and shouting. When I asked the train manager about this she said there was nothing they can do. So why do I pay extra? Shall travel 2nd class from now on. Seriously annoyed (me, not her).

I don't normally bother but I thought this time I would try delay repay. Logged into my account, filled all the details in, worked out how to change a photo into a JPEG, submitted ... "Invalid Access" whatever that means. Tried again. Same result. So more time wasted.

Will someone PLEASE nationalise this useless train company?

This was, I think, my first experience of EMR - but it'll be my last. My husband and I booked a return ticket from Manchester Oxford Road to Cambridge. We were concerned that we may not get a seat on the train because there was no facility to book seats, but it turned out that there was plenty of room when we boarded. However, as we pulled into Nottingham, the conductor made an announcement that if we were proceeding onto Norwich (which was where the train terminated) we had to move into the front two carriages. This announcement came not in advance of the change, but as we actually halted at the platform, so were all scrambling through the train to the front two carriages, to secure seats.(Most train companies give you such information as you board the train at the start of your journey - not EMR; they wait until it's most inconvenient.) Meanwhile, passengers were trying to board - and get seats - at Nottingham. Effectively, they reduced a 4-carriage train to a 2-carriage one. Anyway, we managed to secure seats together, however, on the return journey a very similar thing happened: we were told as we pulled into Nottingham that we had to change trains. There was a train waiting for us on platform 3, we were told. There was - but it was already well packed with passengers who'd been allowed to board it there! So, once again, there was the scramble for seats. My husband and I each got a seat, but not together. Lots of people had to stand, and it was a very unpleasant journey. When we then looked at reviews of EMR, we found that they frequently do things like this. There are clearly lots of very dissatisfied customers. To those who've complained in their reviews that they've struggled to claim delay repay, I advise them to pursue it and to refer the matter to the rail ombudsman if EMR don't respond favourably to your complaint - only with such evidence of ombudsman-referred complaints can the rail regulator take action. Some people wrote in their reviews that EMR disputed that the train had been cancelled or delayed, so try taking photos of the arrivals board as soon as you get off the train, or of the live train progress on your phone, which should show the time the train arrived at each station. We weren't delayed enough for us to claim delay replay - but, if we had done, I absolutely would've pursued the matter until I received what was due. You have to be resolute and determined when dealing with companies like this, and don't be fobbed off with false information. If we need to make the same journey - Manchester-Cambridge - I'll do it differently in the future. I've found that, if you go onto the TrainSplit site - which is a good company - you can use the filters to exclude specific train companies from the search for journeys. It might involve changing once or twice, but I'll do that any day, rather than travel again with EMR! Their trains are old, uncomfortable, and barely fir for service. Their concern for customer comfort seems to be zero.

An utterly appalling service

From Leicester to London, we had to stand all the way because there were only 5 carriages rather than 10 on the train. The air conditioning wasn't working, the toilets weren't working.

The way back was even worse, the train broke down shortly after leaving the station. The air conditioning and toilets weren't working on a boiling hot day.

They had to send an engine out to push up into West Hampstead, then wait for a connection to Kettering and then another delay back to Leicester. It took 5 hours to get back to Leicester instead of the standard 1 hour 1 minutes of a direct train.

An utterly miserable experience. Never again.