East Midlands Railway passengers upset by lack of social distancing

Rail passengers say they have been travelling on "very full" trains with "no social distancing" over the weekend.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) users said passengers were standing in the aisles, with too few carriages available to accommodate them to spread out.

Some regional services were also cancelled, causing others to be busier.

EMR apologised for "the discomfort and inconvenience that some of our customers have experienced".

Current government guidance says although close contact with friends and family is now a personal choice, it advises people to "maintain social distancing" on public transport, as well as in the workplace, in businesses and at public venues.

It states: "When travelling you should, where possible, stay two metres apart or one metre apart with mitigations, from people who are not part of your household or support bubble."

But passengers have said this has not been possible.

Will Loxley caught an EMR service from Sheffield to Ely on Saturday, with two carriages.

He said when the train stopped in Nottingham at about 10:50 BST "there were maybe 100 people waiting on the platform".

The 26-year-old, from Sheffield, said: "They got on. People were asking others to sit next to them and also people were standing up.

"We were sat there for half an hour with the windows closed on the track. Then they told us the train was cancelled.

"Why send two carriages? It seems a bit farcical. It's a bank holiday - they knew it was going to be busy."

Amelia Hunt, from Lancaster, said when her train stopped in Nottingham at about 11:30 on Saturday "there was a huge number of people that needed to get on".

The 51-year-old said: "It became very full with people unable to social distance. Every single seat was taken."

She added it "was not very comfortable at all" and some people were "standing in the vestibules".

Lucy Gager, 30, said on her journey from Ely to Liverpool Lime Street "any form of social distancing was impossible from Nottingham onwards".

She said: "At one point the entire aisle was full. Why would you run a service on a bank holiday with only three carriages?"

An EMR spokesman said the provider had to cancel a number of regional services this weekend, making trains "busier than normal".

He said bus replacement services were being used to "alleviate the problem".

"This problem has also been compounded by significant engineering works on the East Coast Mainline and the resulting increased patronage on our services," he said.

"People travelling should note that it's not possible to guarantee that all customers who wish to travel can socially distance on board.

"For this reason, it is vital that they wear the mandated face covering when using public transport."

EMR also said there were no trains running between Luton and London all weekend due to engineering work, as well as strike action causing "a small number of cancellations" on Sunday.

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