The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has signed a three-year contract for the East Midlands franchise with the current operator, Stagecoach Group subsidiary East Midlands Trains (EMT).

As part of the deal, EMT will continue to run services between London, the East Midlands and parts of northern of England until March 2018.

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The deal will see a £13m investment in improved services, including £8m from the Stagecoach Group subsidiary to improving stations and on-board services, as well as launching a mobile app for customers to buy tickets.

Since November 2007, EMT has been operating the current franchise that covers inter-city services on the Midland Main Line and regional services across the East Midlands.

"Stagecoach Group will pay the government £150m to run the franchise from October 2015 to March 2018, with the possibility of a one-year extension."

EMT connects London to Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield.

The improvements being carried out under the new deal include a freeze on all Anytime fares to London until 2017; extra services between Nottingham and Newark Castle, more automatic ticket machines, and a £1m investment in accessibility at stations.

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Stagecoach Group will pay the government £150m to run the franchise from October 2015 to March 2018, with the possibility of a one-year extension.

UK Rail Minister Claire Perry said: "This is a great deal for East Midlands Trains customers, and will mean significantly better journeys for passengers travelling around the region.

"This is another example of the work we’re doing to transform the UK’s railways as part of our long-term economic plan, with more than £38bn being spent on the network between 2014 and 2019."

EMT will also upgrade on-board Wi-Fi on London services to 4G by 2018, a service that will be free from the start of the next franchise.

According to the DfT, other improvements to the rail network in the region include £150m of completed improvements to Nottingham’s rail network, including the city’s redeveloped station.