After 11 years, East Midlands Trains made its final stop in Nottingham on Saturday (August 17) with Dutch transport giant Abellio taking charge of services on the network.
Operating under the East Midlands Railway banner, the company's purple and white branding was yet to appear on trains rolling through the city's railway station on Sunday (August 18) - with some of the carriages still bearing the former franchisee's name.
Abellio, which was awarded the contract to run the East Midlands franchise in April, launched with the promise of faster journey times, new fleets and a multi-million pound fund to improve stations.
Commuter Melissa Brown makes the trip from Nottingham to Leicester every day by train.
"I would hope [Abellio] keep the fares economical," the 40-year-old said, "And better signage saying what to do if someone is distressed on a train."
The Meadows resident also thought accessibility to trains and platforms should be updated across the network. "People who have mobility issues can struggle," she said.
Stagecoach, which had operated the franchise under the East Midlands Trains subsidiary, was disqualified from the competition to retain the franchise until 2027 for a non-compliant bid. It plans to take legal action against the Department for Transport over this decision.
Holidaymaker David Hogg told Nottinghamshire Live he would like to see the new operator add more carriages and seats to the network's fleet.
"They should put more carriages on and make more seats available," the 58-year-old said. "Sometimes even if you book a seat in advance you don't get one because they take the reservations off."
However, 21-year-old Paige Smith, who was in Nottingham for her birthday, said she'd be happy to see the service stay the same.
The Lincoln resident said: "I think it's already OK. It's normally on time, I think it's fine. [Abellio ] should just keep things ticking along as they already are."
Abellio has unveiled plans to spend £400m on a new fleet of trains, based on Japanese bullet rain technology.
The 33 five-carriage trains will operate across the East Midlands, including Nottingham, from 2022, the firm said.
As well as having more seats and modern interiors the trains also come with air conditioning, free Wi-Fi throughout, plug sockets and better passenger information screens.
Abellio says the new Hitachi trains will improve the environment for passengers, stations and communities along the route.
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