This is what trains from Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough will look like this summer

The new lavender livery will be joined by a new name for trains running along the Midland Mainline.

Out, along with operator Stagecoach, will go East Midlands Trains and in will come new franchisee Abellio, which will use the new name East Midlands Railway, to be know as EMR.

New train company to run services from Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and HarboroughAbellio takes over the line in August and says it will invest £600m on brand new bi-mode intercity trains and faster, modern, refurbished trains across the East Midlands. Bi-mode trains run on both fuel and electric which will be essential as the electrification of the mainline will not extend north.

Part of the bidding process was the promise that Corby will get an extra train every hour at its successful station which reopened ten years ago. There will also need to be free WiFi as part of the agreement.

As well as its big claims for improved stations, faster journey times and 40 per cent more capacity into cities like Nottingham.

The East Midlands Railway brand identity will be introduced from August 18. It will have distinct purple and white branding colours that will be applied gradually onto trains, stations, websites and posters.

It is reminiscent of the iconic London, Midlands and Scottish Railways (LMS) railway carriages.

Stewart Fox-Mills, Abellio’s Commercial Director, said: “We are investing £600 million on improving the railway across the East Midlands and this will include a striking new and durable brand for our new East Midlands Railway. It is the first demonstration of our commitment to deliver a long-term step change in the quality of rail service in the East Midlands.”

The EMR brand has white lettering with a ‘lavender’ shadow as its primary logo colours. The colour scheme is contemporary but pays respect to the strong and proud railway heritage of the East Midlands. Each train carriage will have distinct markings to reflect three distinct market segments:

▪ ‘EMR Intercity’ – services on the Midland Main Line from cities like Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby to London via Leicester and Kettering.

▪ ‘EMR Regional’ – serving longer distance East-West routes such as Nottingham to Lincoln, Crewe to Derby and Norwich to Liverpool.

▪ ‘EMR Electrics’ – electric train services that will run twice hourly between London St Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway and Corby.

The introduction of the EMR identity will be gradual.

The first item to change overnight on Sunday August 18 will be the introduction of a new EMR website. Trains will be rebranded in stages from 2020 through to December 2022. The franchise is currently planned to run until 2027.

In the meantime, trains will receive an ‘interim’ branding with ‘EMR’ inscribed on the sides of many carriages. Stations will be given an EMR design ‘makeover’ together with station signage, leaflets and posters.

The new East Midlands Railway name has been designated as a long term and enduring brand for this and successive East Midlands railway franchises.

Abellio operates the ScotRail, West Midlands Railway/London Northwestern and Greater Anglia franchises, and runs the Merseyrail concession in a 50:50 joint venture with Serco. It also runs eight per cent of London buses through Abellio London.