EMR First Class: Everything you need to know

When deciding whether to upgrade, it’s well worth getting to know what’s included. An EMR First Class ticket gets you:

• Larger, more comfortable seats
• A table with every seat
• Quieter carriages
• Plug sockets, to keep your devices charged while you’re on the move
• Complimentary refreshments served at your table (Monday to Saturday)

This is in addition to the free Wi-Fi available throughout the train on intercity services to and from London St Pancras as well as at many of the stations.

Travelling at breakfast time on a weekday? You can enjoy a hot filled breakfast roll with the EMR First Class menu. Alongside your breakfast roll, enjoy a choice of snacks such as pastries, breakfast bars and biscuits. For passengers travelling on a Saturday morning service, there’s a cold breakfast offer, which includes a sandwich along with a choice of biscuits, yogurts and pastries.

If you’re travelling later in the day, there are sandwiches, wraps, salads, cakes and crisps to choose from as well as a selection of hot and cold drinks. Alcoholic drinks are also available to purchase onboard but aren’t included in the EMR First Class menu.

You can find a full list of the EMR First Class menu nutritional and intolerance information here.

Please note that complimentary refreshments aren’t available on Sundays.

Unfortunately, there’s no official EMR First Class seating plan available online. You’ll be able to find the First Class carriages from the information on the side of the train or by asking a member of staff on the station platform.

The seat configuration options in EMR First Class carriages are either four seats to a table, two seats to a table or individual table seats.

Photo by Superalbs

The EMR First Class lounges were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and haven’t reopened, so currently there is no First Class lounge option provided by EMR.

Previous lounge locations included:

• London St Pancras International
• Nottingham
• Derby
• Leicester
• Peterborough
• York

In many cases, the former EMR First Class lounges have now become waiting rooms for all passengers.

Booking an EMR First Class ticket is straightforward with our journey planner. Choose your preferred route and time, then before moving to the payment screen, select ‘View 1^st Class & More Tickets’ to see First Class fare options.

If you’ve already booked your ticket but now want to add a little extra comfort with an EMR First Class upgrade, you can do this on eligible tickets either at the station, by speaking to the Train Manager onboard, or through your EMR online account.

Another option for last-minute upgrades is to submit a bid through the Seatfrog app. Simply search for the journey you’ve booked and select how much you’d like to bid for an upgrade. If you win the auction, you’ll need to show your standard ticket as well as your Seatfrog upgrade barcode to access First Class.

EMR First Class Sunday upgrades

If you’re travelling on a Sunday, it’s a great time to consider an upgrade as First Class tickets tend to be more available and at a discounted price. It’s worth remembering that there’s no complimentary refreshment service on Sundays though, so be sure to bring your own snacks.

Whether travelling EMR First Class is worth it will completely depend on what you’re looking for out of your journey. We think that for many passengers the comfort and calm of First Class, along with the food and drink included, make it worth the extra spend.

To get the best value upgrade options, it’s well worth booking in advance and comparing different travel times if your journey has flexibility. Whichever ticket option you choose, you can rest assured knowing you’re up to speed on all that an EMR First Class upgrade has to offer before you book.