The first phase of a £2 million upgrade of East Midland Railway’s (EMR) Eastcroft Depot in Nottingham has been completed successfully.

Eastcroft Depot is at the centre of EMR’s Regional operations. It provides essential maintenance for trains that provide services across the country, from Crewe to Cleethorpes and Norwich to Liverpool.

The first phase of the upgrade improved the depot’s train cleaning facilities and increased the ability of the depot to stable more trains. The investment will further support the development of EMR Regional services, and provide more capacity for stabling three-carriage trains.

Phase two of the upgrade is now underway. This phase originally only included the installation of additional fuel pumps, but an additional investment for safety lighting has been secured, so it will now also include the construction of a new £360,000 lighting system. The lighting system will help to improve safety across the depot and is being jointly funded by EMR and Network Rail to which is NR contributing £190,000.

Neil Bamford, Fleet Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “We are making excellent progress with the Eastcroft Depot project and its great news that phase one has already been completed.

“The depot is at the very heart of the EMR Regional service and these works will not only increase the capacity of the depot – but it will also help to support the further development of services.

“We would like to thank Network Rail for supporting the project. Its contribution towards the new lighting system underlines our industry’s strong commitment to work together to prioritise safety.”

Deborah Fairweather, Senior Sponsor for Network Rail, said: “We’re pleased to be supporting our partners at East Midlands Railway in delivering this huge upgrade at Eastcroft Depot. Investing in new lighting will not only improve safety for workers at the essential facility, but it will make for a nicer, brighter environment. It’s brilliant to see the first stage complete and I look forward to seeing the further improvements over the next few months.”