East Midlands Railway postpones controversial decision to close station footbridge

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has postponed controversial plans to close its footbridge to passengers at Nottingham Railway Station after substantial opposition on social media.

Late last week, EMR said it was set to close access to platforms via Nottingham station’s footbridge in a move designed to reduce fare evasion.

Customers who wanted to access platforms one to six would instead need to use the main entrance of the station.

The changes were supposed to take effect from Monday (October 28), but the footbridge remained open throughout the day and into Tues

However, after a huge backlash on various social media platforms, EMR said late on Tuesday afternoon that: “The footbridge remains open for the moment. The team is reviewing feedback and making some final assessments; the closure is now expected to be later in the week.”

The proposed closure follows a series of three recent revenue operations at Nottingham that revealed the level of ticketless travel through the station.

Philippa Cresswell, customer service director at East Midlands Railway, said last week: “The vast majority of our customers always buy a ticket and understand that for the railway to successfully operate, improve, and secure investment, fares need to be paid.

“Sadly, there is a minority of determined people who think they can travel for free and have been using the overhead bridge to avoid paying.

“We have a duty to protect revenue – which is ultimately taxpayers’ money and fare-paying customer’s money – and have been forced to take this action to prevent access to the platforms via the station’s footbridge.”