East Midlands Railway’s Seatfrog App has seen an impressive response from customers with more than 7,000 opting to bid for an upgrade for their Standard Class tickets to First Class with prices starting from just £10.

The app is available to download via the App Store and Google Play and lets customers bid last minute in order to upgrade their seating. Bidding using the app can commence up to 24 hours prior to departure and right up to 30 minutes before the train is set to leave. Instant upgrades can also be purchased onboard the train.

Seatfrog offers upgrades for selected peak and off-peak services on East Midlands Railways Intercity routes travelling between London and intercity locations such as Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and East Midlands Parkway.

The app was launched just six months ago and the most popular routes for upgraded tickets are:

• Sheffield to London St Pancras
• Nottingham to London St Pancras
• Derby to London London St Pancras

Expected passenger volumes dictated the availability of upgrades from Standard to First Class.

Customers who would like to take part need to open their Seatfrog app and enter their booking reference or use the apps train search facility and it will reveal upgrades available for their journey. The app requires customers to add the number of upgrades they wish to bid for and set a price for each of the upgrades, bids can be placed as many times as customers wish to do so as there is no cost for each auction. Lucky bidders will be notified by the app and≤ payment will be taken ahead of receiving a First Class upgrade barcode directly to their phone.

Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “Seatfrog is quick and simple to use and provides the chance for customers to enjoy all the perks of First Class travel at a reduced rate – starting at just £10.

“Since EMR has been using the app it has proven very popular with our customers who want the flexibility to upgrade when it suits them.”

Iain Griffin, co-founder of Seatfrog, said:

“It’s great seeing thousands of happy EMR customers grabbing first-class upgrades at the best price. With almost a million customers in the UK, we’re making travel by rail great again and can’t wait to grow this even further with EMR.”