EMR is, unfortunately, more about style than substance. Sure, mostly - but not always - the trains turn up, which is a positive, but beyond that under Abelio the franchise seems to be a mess of broken promises and failure to deliver. We have a network of two halves - the Intercity operation has been in managed decline since the glory days of Midland Mainline (worse under Stagecoach, worse even more now), while the regional operation improved after Central Trains demise but has got worse since Stagecoach bowed out.
Most noticeable - from the style rather than substance theme - is that there seems to be time and money for fancy marketing schemes, and yet not for train interior refurbishments. Likewise, the downtime and money seems to be available for repaints, but not for seats or onboard facilities. Lots of broken promises about refurbs in the franchise bid - trains to be done inside and out, wifi on every train, etc - and yet none of this has been done. What wifi there is seems to be broken quite frequently, while no trains have had it fitted during Abelio’s tenure as far as I’m away. Honestly I don’t care what colour the train is on the outside, but I do care about onboard facilities and the disgraceful state of the seats in the Meridians - which, coincidently, EMR said in a press release in May this year would be recovered, and yet experience over the last couple of weeks shows no evidence has even started: 5,400 new seat covers to be fitted at Etches Park - how long should it take before there‘s some sign of progress? Even last week parts of Derby station were being painted in EMR purple - what a waste, get the guy changing Meridian seat covers instead. But like I say - style rather than substance. The 810s were originally going to start to be introduced this year - which would just about make the state of the Meridian fleet excusable - but now it seems unlikely the new fleet will turn a wheel in public service much before the end of next year, if we‘re lucky. And of course the dreadful 180s seem set to remain.
Similarly, there’s always claims of EMR being chronically short of units, and yet last weekend there were three 156s and three 170s languishing at Barrow Hill [I know, I know, EMR apologists will soon be along citing staff training, covid, blah, blah - there’s only so long these excuses wash, and I think its expired]. And don’t even get me started on things like First Class lounges, which all other operators managed to reopen post covid while EMR’s remained shut - or used as staff accommodation in some cases. Then there’s things like clearing up rubbish, which seems to have got worse. Tidying up the tables etc during a turnround now seems to be an occasional maybe rather than a check-list item - and its horrible to get on a train at a terminus and find its still full of trash from the last trip.
Like I’ve said several times, EMR seems to be all about show and less about substance. The marketing team who seem to be living in Miles’ cloud cuckoo land might well consider this saying: you can’t put lipstick on a pig.