East Midlands Railway (EMR) is introducing a new journey planner which allows people to plan their entire journey, door-to-door.

The multi-modal planner is free, and allows customers to input journey criteria such as time, environmentally-friendly options or trips that increase health benefits. Users can plan their trip from any starting location, including a postcode, what3words or Google Places, to any end destination.

Suggested journey options include all transport modes, including rail, bus, tram and e-bikes. The planner will show any known delays or cancellations and information on how busy trains are, how long each leg of the journey will take, and which bus stop to use. It will even tell users the expected weather, and offer alternatives based on this.

EMR has made the planner available on its website, and as added it to be added to EMR Messenger, a personalised journey assistant which gives real-time journey information via WhatsApp and Messenger. Once passengers select their route, they can opt to receive real-time updates through EMR Messenger. Technology for these services is provided by Zipabout.

The company is promoting the new planner as part of Better Transport Week,

Neil Grabham, Customer Service Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “Our customers are constantly on the move and use a number of ways to travel to and from our stations.

“This new multi-modal planner allows them to tailor their journey to fit their specific requirements – taking in consideration environmental, health or speed requirements.

“The journey planner is another great option for customers and sits perfectly alongside the EMR Messenger service – which provides customers with personalised journey updates, including details of real-time disruption.”