East Midlands Trains and trentbarton have teamed up again to launch a special, combined rail and bus ticket for shoppers visiting the East Midlands Designer Outlet.

From Monday 19 May, shoppers will be able to buy a train ticket to travel from any East Midlands Trains’ station to Alfreton, and then purchase an add-on bus ticket for just £4 return.  A single bus journey is priced at £2 and 50% discount for children is available.

The East Midlands Designer Outlet, located in South Normanton, offers over 70 stores, cafes and restaurants and provides access to favourite labels with price reductions of up to 70% all year round.

East Midlands Trains offers regular direct train services from Sheffield and Nottingham to Alfreton, where passengers can connect in with ‘the nines’ buses run by trentbarton to the East Midlands Designer Outlet, which runs every 30 minutes seven days a week and takes less than 15 minutes.  Live bus departures from Alfreton station can be viewed at www.trentbarton.co.uk/live

Tickets can be purchased from any East Midlands Trains’ station.  The combined fare from Nottingham to the East Midlands Designer Outlet start from just £13.10 return, and from Sheffield from £14.70 return.

Neil Micklethwaite, Customer Service & Commercial Director for East Midlands Trains, said: “We want to offer fully joined up transport opportunities for our customers and the new integrated train and bus ticket will allow our customers an easy, simple and convenient way of enjoying the great shopping available at the East Midlands Designer Outlet.

“We are constantly working to improve the service we offer and this is a great example of two local transport operators working together once again to deliver a new and innovative product for our customers and support the wider East Midlands area. Working with trentbarton we are showing that integrated transport can be really simple”

Alex Hornby, Marketing & Communications Director for trentbarton, said: “We’re forever on a mission to make public transport as attractive and as easy to use as possible.

“By working together with East Midlands Trains, we have virtually added the East Midlands Designer Outlet to the national rail network via an easy bus connection on our frequent ‘nines’ buses 7 days a week. Customers will be taken from the train station to the Designer Outlet in less than 15 minutes in style on our smart, leather seated buses” 

East Midlands Trains has worked successfully together with trentbarton and its sister companies to launch a number of new ticketing solutions for customers over the past year.  In September 2013, a special combined bus and rail ticket was launched for students and university staff travelling from Loughborough station to Loughborough University.  In addition, the two transport operators worked together to deliver alternative transport solutions for customers travelling into Nottingham during the major re-signalling works in Summer 2013.