Football specials Nottingham to St. Pancras Sunday 27/04/2025

[duffield]

There are two football specials from Nottingham to St. Pancras for Nottingham Forest's FA Cup semi-final appearance at Wembley on Sunday:
1Z22 0809 Nottingham to St Pancras International
1Z43 0940 Nottingham to St Pancras International
picking up at Beeston and East Midlands Parkway, then non-stop to London.

Have EMR ever run any passenger services (not ECS etc.) non-stop through Leicester before?

 

[50002Superb]

It’s a good job they are.

EMRs preparation for the playoff final a few years back was beyond a joke.

We ended up getting a taxi to Tamworth and the WMR down to London.

On the way back four of us shared an Uber rather than fight the crowd at St Pancras.

 

[Trainman40083]

There are two football specials from Nottingham to St. Pancras for Nottingham Forest's FA Cup semi-final appearance at Wembley on Sunday:
1Z22 0809 Nottingham to St Pancras International
1Z43 0940 Nottingham to St Pancras International
picking up at Beeston and East Midlands Parkway, then non-stop to London.

Have EMR ever run any passenger services (not ECS etc.) non-stop through Leicester before?

The Master Cutler (I think it was), well around 08.00 from Derby weekdays, used to run non stop from Derby to St Pancras. In later years, it stopped at Leicester again.

 

[duffield]

It’s a good job they are.

EMRs preparation for the playoff final a few years back was beyond a joke.

We ended up getting a taxi to Tamworth and the WMR down to London.

On the way back four of us shared an Uber rather than fight the crowd at St Pancras.

I'd hope they would put double units on these services, giving nearly 1000 seats between them.

 

[43055]

There are two football specials from Nottingham to St. Pancras for Nottingham Forest's FA Cup semi-final appearance at Wembley on Sunday:
1Z22 0809 Nottingham to St Pancras International
1Z43 0940 Nottingham to St Pancras International
picking up at Beeston and East Midlands Parkway, then non-stop to London.

Have EMR ever run any passenger services (not ECS etc.) non-stop through Leicester before?

Also a 2145 and 2215 return only stopping at Parkway and Beeston.

It’s a good job they are.

EMRs preparation for the playoff final a few years back was beyond a joke.

We ended up getting a taxi to Tamworth and the WMR down to London.

On the way back four of us shared an Uber rather than fight the crowd at St Pancras.

The sercumstances are diffrent this time.

Last time it was a normal Sunday service with a 2 track railway south of Bedford and a rather stretched fleet so little chance of putting extra trains on and they are normally 7 or 10 car so little chance of making them any longer.

This time the timetable is reduced to 3ph in the afternoon so frees up the odd train and all 4 lines are open so there is the ability to put these extras on. Although looking at the platform allocations at St Pancras I think there maybe a few 5 cars running round.

I'd hope they would put double units on these services, giving nearly 1000 seats between them.

The 0809 and 0817 from Nottingham both show arriving into the same platform at London with a special to Cricklewood departing after. 2 5's to London then 10 to the depot?

 

[50002Superb]

Also a 2145 and 2215 return only stopping at Parkway and Beeston.

The sercumstances are diffrent this time.

Last time it was a normal Sunday service with a 2 track railway south of Bedford and a rather stretched fleet so little chance of putting extra trains on and they are normally 7 or 10 car so little chance of making them any longer.

This time the timetable is reduced to 3ph in the afternoon so frees up the odd train and all 4 lines are open so there is the ability to put these extras on. Although looking at the platform allocations at St Pancras I think there maybe a few 5 cars running round.


The 0809 and 0817 from Nottingham both show arriving into the same platform at London with a special to Cricklewood departing after. 2 5's to London then 10 to the depot?

In that case they shouldn’t have sold enough tickets to have people lining up around all four corners of the station, with similar issues at Beeston and Long Eaton.

And there were definitely five car trains leaving Nottingham that day.

 

[Bungle]

It’s the London Marathon too… I think I would be giving most London terminals a VERY wide berth that day, but especially any where it’s added to football traffic.

 

[Trainman40083]

With the Thameslink tunnels being closed for maintenance, it looks like 4 Thameslink trains per hour will be using platform 1.. Then the EMR Corbys use platform 2, leaving platforms 3 and 4 for the EMR services to/from Leicester and north. LNER seem to be putting an extra train on calling at Newark and Grantham too.

 

[JonathanH]

The Master Cutler (I think it was), well around 08.00 from Derby weekdays, used to run non stop from Derby to St Pancras. In later years, it stopped at Leicester again.

Non stop from Chesterfield at one point, not just Derby.

 

[louis97]

Have EMR ever run any passenger services (not ECS etc.) non-stop through Leicester before?

During engineering works on the Midland Mainline between Luton and London, on occasion there have been advertised trains that have ran non-stop from Derby to Luton and vice versa. These have typically been on a Sunday at the start and/or end of the day.

An example here: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:J19786/2025-05-11/detailed

 

[yorkie]

In that case they shouldn’t have sold enough tickets to have people lining up around all four corners of the station, with similar issues at Beeston and Long Eaton.

This claim isn't based on reality; any retailer is obliged to sell walk-up tickets for any flow on any given date.

There's no methodology for any TOC to prevent any retailer selling tickets that have validity on any given line of route on any given day.

However, if you'd like to make any alternative proposals, feel free to create a new thread in Speculative Discussion, and we can discuss it there.

 

[50002Superb]

This claim isn't based on reality; any retailer is obliged to sell walk-up tickets for any flow on any given date.

There's no methodology for any TOC to prevent any retailer selling tickets that have validity on any given line of route on any given day.

However, if you'd like to make any alternative proposals, feel free to create a new thread in Speculative Discussion, and we can discuss it there.

Sorry, I don’t understand?

Trainline states how many tickets are left for each journey so they must know how many tickets have been sold for each train that day? Surely when it says there are four tickets left and those tickets are sold that they stop selling tickets for that journey?

People were turning up and joining the queue for the train. They weren’t buying tickets on the day.

The queue literally went all the way down Queens Road, over the bridge on London Road and then all the way back up Station Street to Carrington Street, and in some places was four deep.

I’d genuinely never seen anything like it at Nottingham station

 

[55002]

The Master Cutler (I think it was), well around 08.00 from Derby weekdays, used to run non stop from Derby to St Pancras. In later years, it stopped at Leicester again.

Back in the 80s that used to be the only passenger train through Toton if I recall..not sure it stopped at Leicester then, probably not, ah sorry just seen Jonathan’s post above..non stop from Chesterfield.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Trainline states how many tickets are left for each journey so they must know how many tickets have been sold for each train that day? Surely when it says there are four tickets left and those tickets are sold that they stop selling tickets for that journey?

Those are advanced ticket quotas, once those run out they then become more expensive for the next people that buy them, however this has no impact on "walk up tickets" (e.g. an off-peak return) which can be bought at any time and used on any valid train, some companies add "Compulsory reservations" to their trains, but this is basically never enforced (especially since most of them have unreserved seating)

 

[DDB]

Sorry, I don’t understand?

Trainline states how many tickets are left for each journey so they must know how many tickets have been sold for each train that day? Surely when it says there are four tickets left and those tickets are sold that they stop selling tickets for that journey?

People were turning up and joining the queue for the train. They weren’t buying tickets on the day.

The queue literally went all the way down Queens Road, over the bridge on London Road and then all the way back up Station Street to Carrington Street, and in some places was four deep.

I’d genuinely never seen anything like it at Nottingham station

Train line might be telling you how many advance tickets are left at a particular price band or possibly total advance tickets in total but lots, probably most tickets aren't restricted to a single trian or even a particular day. I'm typing this on a train which my season ticket covers I didn't know until this morning which train I was going to get so there is no way the rail company can know.

 

[Spartacus]

That 1Z43's a flyer, 09:40 off Nottingham, into St Pancras at 11:10!

 

[MCR247]

That 1Z43's a flyer, 09:40 off Nottingham, into St Pancras at 11:10!

4 1/2 minutes from Nottingham to Beeston will be impressive if it manages it. I’d have thought it’d have to go off platform 7 to make that, it seems to be booked from 1 but the signallers seem to be creative when needed

 

[transportphoto]

1Z22 is a five car this morning. 1Z43 is a ten car.

Looks like there is also an additional 2L99 22:16 Leicester to Nottingham later this evening (6 car 170) connecting off of a London to Sheffield service. This is alongside two extra unadvertised 1Zxx’s from London direct to Nottingham.

 

[louis97]

4 1/2 minutes from Nottingham to Beeston will be impressive if it manages it. I’d have thought it’d have to go off platform 7 to make that, it seems to be booked from 1 but the signallers seem to be creative when needed

That's the booked running time via the Up Nottingham Fast, it's rarely ever achieved on a normal day.

 

[duffield]

4 1/2 minutes from Nottingham to Beeston will be impressive if it manages it. I’d have thought it’d have to go off platform 7 to make that, it seems to be booked from 1 but the signallers seem to be creative when needed

Looks like all the London services are leaving from P7, the first four did and the double unit for the next service (1016) has just arrived ECS at P7.

Probably facilitates crowd control etc. to have them all leave from P7.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

With the Thameslink tunnels being closed for maintenance

On London Marathon day? Who decided that was acceptable

 

[Haywain]

On London Marathon day? Who decided that was acceptable

If the London Marathon or FA Cup semi-finals or whatever had to have all of London’s railways open they would never take place.

 

[DDB]

Looks like all the London services are leaving from P7, the first four did and the double unit for the next service (1016) has just arrived ECS at P7.

Probably facilitates crowd control etc. to have them all leave from P7.

The Nottingham Post is saying EMR have told all people travelling to London to use the Queens Road Entrance which goes direct onto platform 7 so that would make sense.

 

[MCR247]

It seems 1z43 got delayed around Kettering for some reason and is now about 15 mins late

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

If the London Marathon or FA Cup semi-finals or whatever had to have all of London’s railways open they would never take place.

Yes I agree, but the Marathon would seem to want the high-capacity cross-London routes open to shift the crowds. That’s different to having closures on one radial route somewhere. Maybe I’m being too logical.

 

[Haywain]

but the Marathon would seem to want the high-capacity cross-London routes open to shift the crowds.

I would counter that by saying that there are lots of alternatives and that the crowds have come from, and will return in, all directions.

 

[Trainman40083]

On London Marathon day? Who decided that was acceptable

Maintenance has to take place sometime. Ideally on a Sunday or Bank Holiday.. Can't afford issues on Thameslink on a weekday. It would cause chaos, even to EMR trains. If only they had built HS2 to the East Midlands, there would have been an alternative route with capacity.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Maintenance has to take place sometime. Ideally on a Sunday or Bank Holiday.. Can't afford issues on Thameslink on a weekday. It would cause chaos, even to EMR trains. If only they had built HS2 to the East Midlands, there would have been an alternative route with capacity.

Yes, but presumably there is a choice of Sundays. A TOC with which I am connected has always seen London Marathon day as a priority event day and makes efforts to ensure as full a service operates as possible.

 

[Haywain]

Yes, but presumably there is a choice of Sundays. A TOC with which I am connected has always seen London Marathon day as a priority event day and makes efforts to ensure as full a service operates as possible.

See post #26.

 

[LA50041]

On London Marathon day? Who decided that was acceptable

That would be Network Rail