To try to fill their trains (and thus their shareholder's pockets) in the traditionally quiet after-Christmas period East Midlands Trains are offering the chance to travel anywhere served by their trains from East Midlands Parkway for £10 on 30th January.
See their e-brochure below:
http://eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/EMTrains/Campaigns/RedDotDay.htm
For those not familiar with the services provided, the furthest points of their networks are Liverpool, London, Leeds, York, Skeggy and Norwich. All but London will require at least one change of train.
Keen cyclists should be aware that EMP is about 30km from Derby and is best approached via Kegworth and Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Anyone seeking timetable help can contact me (PCF)
3 comments:
Well done Peter for spotting this. It is quite some time since we saw such a good offer.
I have downloaded the voucher, so will be going, but need to decide next where to go to. Suggestions please.
Note that start is only from East Midlands Parkway Station, but for those with folding bikes, the easiest access is by the Skyway bus service which goes frequently from the Morledge and has ample room for luggage. Free for bus pass holders.
How's about going to Liverpool and cycling from there to Formby? Or cross the Mersey by ferry and cycle round the Wirral?
Liverpool would be a good destination. Journey time is a little over 3 hours on average. If you can only use EMT trains then the route must be via Derby or Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester. I see that you have to get your ticket at EMP station so that seems to rule out any dodges we may think of to start at Derby. The possible snag with crossing the Mersey is the time taken up doing so - unless you start from home VERY early you are only going to have some 4 hours cycling time and you could easily lose half that waiting for the ferry at one end or the other. As 30/1 is a Saturday, the 09:30 limit on free bus travel does not apply. Does the Skylink actually go to EMP? The Notts to Liverpool service is operated by class 158 units which only carry 2 full sized bikes.
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