Campaigners have welcomed additional services between Crewe and Nottingham but say further timetable increases are still needed.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has confirmed that an extra four trains per day will return to the Crewe to Nottingham route on week days starting with the next timetable change on 10th December.

The services were slashed during the Covid-19 pandemic and weren't reinstated afterwards.

Campaigners have said it means Derby, Stoke and Crewe, and the communities in between, have been left with fewer trains than they've had for decades.

This includes people served by stations in Longton, Blythe Bridge, Uttoxeter, Tutbury & Hatton, Longport, Kidsgrove and Alsager.

Mike Willmot, Chair of North Staffs Community Rail Partnership (NSCRP) said: "We are delighted to hear this news from EMR.

"The return of these four peak time services will help a lot of passengers, particularly commuters and students."

He said they will continue to campaign for the reinstatement of a further two weekday services and six Saturday trains.

The NSCRP said shifts in travel habits mean Saturday is now the busiest day of the week for rail passengers, and the group has urged rail bosses to reinstate their hourly Saturday service.

They say they are keen to encourage EMR to work with the Department for Transport to deliver these services, as well as the former 1036 to Crewe and 1310 from Crewe during the week.

They held an online meeting in August to build up awareness of their campaign.

In addition, MPs Kate Kniveton and Jack Brereton also met with railway bosses over the summer to call for timetables to be restored.

Ms Kniveton said: "I am pleased following my meeting alongside Stoke South MP, Jack Bereton, that EMR are to increase the number of timetabled trains serving Uttoxeter at peak times.

"This will make a big difference to the consistency of the service and is something I know the local community have been calling for.

"I will continue to work with my parliamentary colleagues in the region to push for further improvements along the line, beyond where they were pre-pandemic.

"The Crewe to Nottingham line offers huge potential for the Midlands and our regional economy. It is vital we do all we can to further improve the service on this line."

She pledged to continue pressing for further improvements to the local train services, including an earlier start to services on a Sunday and progress towards the fruition of a half hourly service on weekdays.

Jack Brereton has been calling for improvements to local rail services – including the addition of half-hourly services and a new station for Meir.

He said: "I welcome the restoration of these important local rail services, this is something I have raised previously with EMR so I am pleased they have listened to concerns about the impact of gaps in the timetable.

"I will be continuing to campaign for a half hourly services to further increase the frequency and usage of the line in the future.

"Once Meir Station is reopened I do believe a further increase of local rail services would be the next step to get more people using our local rail services."

A decision on plans for Meir station is due to be announced by the end of this year.

The four weekday services being reinstated are:

• 0553 Nottingham – Crewe
• • 0810 Crewe – Nottingham
• • 1616 Nottingham – Crewe
• • 1810 Crewe – Nottingham