EMR Reviews 

I echo what the majority are saying in their reviews regarding EMR. Their website for delay repay is the worst of them all. You make a claim and they don’t send a confirmation email for the claim. I phone them up and they tell me to “go to Uber”where I purchased the ticket. Which is total BS!
I make the claim again a week later, for which I do get a confirmation. But a few days after they say “we can’t process the claim because that ticket has already been submitted”. It all came to nothing.
At the end of the day they just don’t want to refund customers. Hence why they make the whole process virtually impossible.
Delayed/Cancelled trains, not enough carriages, and P**s Poor 1st class.
They’re just a total shower. Probably the worst train operator in the country, and I’ve been on almost all of them.

Great service received going from Kettering to Sheffield changing at East Midlands Parkway.
Really helpful and kind.

A member of the gate team at St Pancras train station helped us when we were travelling home. The seats could not be booked in first class, as my husband needed a seat due to disability he got us on the train first and found us seats. He was a lovely caring person

A helpful & understanding member of staff at the ticket office in Market Harborough was able to assist me after I missed my train due to traffic congestion in Market Harborough.This immediately addressed stress & anxiety arising from the situation & I am very grateful.

According to the staff at the barriers at London St Pancras (11/05/2026, 14:05 to Nottingham), EMR have a policy that prohibits staff from helping a lone mother and baby onto the train. Even if she collapsed the buggy down for them and carried the baby they said they could not help load the folded down buggy and bags onto the train. This surely is discrimination against single mothers as instructed by EMR themselves. The EMR staff became quite aggressive and followed us down the platform shouting that they could stop us from boarding the train if they wanted to, just because we thought the rules were unfair. Staff must encounter some very rude and difficult staff but taking out their stress on their most vulnerable customers is unfair. In the end they let me (sister of the mother) through the barriers to lift the (collapsed) pushchair onto the train myself. EMR should prioritise customer service training and moving and handling training for their platform staff. Absolutely ridiculous to think it is safer to leave a single mum to struggle on the platform with buggy/baby/bags than to help her themselves. Formal complaint with reference to the discrimination against mothers under 2010 equality act to follow.

Yet again they cancelled last minute.

How can you get away with so much as a business, treating your customers like they are nothing. Some people need to get to work at certain times not when EMR decides when? I use a season pass. Who is going to refund me the total journey that meant to happen this morning? Each Friday you purposely put 2 carriages on routes to Nottingham where people can't even move while standing in the aisles, bare in mind be seated.

This is one of the most expensive railway companies providing a dreadful service week in week out without any consequences and no accountability.

Do you know for the record, a trip from Rome to Milan is around 30 euros (over 400miles). You charge 10 quid for 20 miles and you don't even run that service properly. Can you see how you rip off people?

Great travel this morning with EAST MIDLANDS RAILWAY 06/05/26 on the 09:59 train conductors were lovely and the train was on-time.

Massive bell ends

Refused to refund an accidental ticket purchase 10 minutes after it was purchased

Absolute joke of a train company. Outward journey to Skegness dangerously over crowded and running late. The return journey even worse with delays of over an hour, (missed connection), no staff at the station to advise what was happening, (other than the comment - well you can get delays travelling by cars - terrible customer service), and to add further discomfort the toilet on the train out of service (for a near 2 hour journey) and also the information office and toilets at the interchange station all closed. This was the Skegness > Sleaford > Nottingham line. I won't be making the mistake again, I'll stick to my car and at least be in control of my journey.

Used 3 times recently for trains to Derby for football at pride park. On every occasion going to the game they put on 2 carriages for games expecting in excess of 30,000 people. This of course meant standing in the aisles of a dirty, packed and hot train, all for full fare!. How can this be a safe way to travel! Chose the train as I thought it would be a better option to road congestion, how wrong I was. Next season the train will not take the strain and I'm back in my car. Shameful lack of service!

The train up was clean and on time. I had been helped on to the platform by very friendly staff . I had no problem getting a seat and the journey was uneventful. I arrived at St Pancras bang on time.
On the return journey, despite major line works, the staff were well organised and helped me to board the train. The journey back was equally pleasant. Well done EMR.

Awful company. They sell tickets and then decide on the day whether they can be bothered to run trains and at whatever time they decide. Please go out of business and never come back

On our return from St Pancras to Nottingham on 26th April 2026, it was realised that we wouldn't meet our connection train in Nottingham, we asked the lady inspector how we were going to continue our journey to lincoln, she understood our difficulty and proceeded to try to remedy our problem. She phoned ahead to customer services at Nottingham and spoke to Sophie, Sophie arranged a taxi to continue our journey to lincoln, Sophie met us at the Nottingham station to confirm this. Our experience was beyond our expectations, and we wish to thank the staff at EMR for going out of their way to ensure we arrived home safely

I had the most wonderful service last week from two different members of staff who made my trip so easy. I have mobility issues and the strikes had impacted my journey and the EMR staff made everything better for me!!!!

Train was cancelled leaving myself and my daughter stranded and when trying to claim money back customer service was non existent. Quick to take your money but any issues don’t bother - it’s a waste of time.

Absolutely disgusting experience with EMR Rail. Arrived in Manchester and got on what felt like a medieval train. Completely overcrowded, people crammed in everywhere, no space to move, and honestly felt unsafe the whole time.

The train itself was dirty, outdated, and just grim. For a UK rail service, this is embarrassing. It genuinely felt like being shoved into something you’d expect in a completely under-resourced system, not something you’re paying good money for here.

No comfort, no organisation, no basic standards. Just stress and frustration from start to finish. Another thing to consider before deciding to give your hard worked money on it!

Toilets closed at the station. Toilets out of order on the train. Trains an absolute mess. Slow as hell.

If I could leave less than 1 star I would.

The model for how a railway franchise should not be run.

Be late most of the time.
Cancel trains at the last minute, almost daily
Roll out the same excuses every time. Often just be short of staff.
Ensure your trains have half the carriages they are meant to especially after a cancelled train before that.
Charge exorbitant prices. Increase them regularly.
Be 30 -40 percent more expensive than Euston lines just because you terminate at St Pancras.
Treat your passengers like criminals. In the same breath apologise for a cancelled train and inform of the extreme penalties for not having the right ticket.
Be militant. If you're a ticket checker think that you are a member of an elite Navy seal SWAT team.
Have distain for your passengers.
Make sure the toilets are regularly not working.
Just be poor day in day out and charge a fortune for it.