The LGBTQIA+ Employee Network at East Midlands Railway has unveiled its second special rainbow livery, celebrating Pride and furthering diversity within the workplace.

The livery applied to a Class 170 regional train (No. 170501) features both the Pride and transgender flags on the sides of the two-car Diesel Multiple Unit.

On Saturday 7th September No.170501 transported passengers across the EMR regional route from Nottingham to Skegness for the official event at the Marketplace on Pride Street (Grand Parade).

Upon reaching Skegness station, visitors were greeted with Pride flags, banners, goodie bags, sunglasses, and an assortment of sweet treats such as cakes and ice creams.

“This pride train is a fantastic way of showcasing our commitment as a network to set EMR on the right path to promoting Diversity and Inclusion.

It’s also a great way to show our support to the Pride events taking place on our network, one of which being the East Coast Pride at Skegness.”

Mags Luckhurst, a LGBTQ+ network member and Senior Conductor for East Midlands Railway

“When East Midlands Railway told us they were launching a new Pride train for our first East Coast Pride in Skegness, we were so excited. As a grant provider for East Coast Pride, EMR was instrumental in making the event happen. Thank you to those who rolled with Pride to Skegness last Saturday.”

Brad Johnson, Volunteer Communications Lead for East Coast Pride

The Class 170 Pride train can be frequently spotted on the EMR Regional routes, complementing the existing Class 158 Pride train that was introduced in August 2022.

This event has followed on from many other successful pride events that have been held across the county this year, including Nottingham, which painted a tram in pride livery, while train companies joined forces to take visitors to York Pride back in June, using TransPennine and LNER’s rainbow trains No.801226 & No.802213.