Faster, Frequent, New, Better, Cheaper, Quicker, Simpler…Just Some of the Words That Describe Virgin Trains Improvements Following VHF Timetable Introduction

LONDON - Faster

Journey times significantly reduced following the start of the VHF timetable in December 2008, with typical journey times from London to Birmingham (1h 22min); from London to Manchester (2hr 06min); London to Liverpool (2hr 08min) and fastest ever London to Glasgow flagship service (4hr 10min).

Frequent

Three trains an hour from London to Birmingham; and London to Manchester - including weekends. The most frequent long-distance inter-city service in Europe. With a train every 20 minutes there is no need for a timetable! The third train each hour on the Manchester route is the second major increase in frequency in the last five years - in September 2004 frequency increased from one train an hour to two.

New

New hourly service operating between London and Chester, with a journey time of just two hours.

Better

Record numbers of passengers have voted with their feet and abandoned domestic air travel between Manchester and London, with Virgin Trains now having almost 80 percent of the rail/air market share - up from a third in 2004. Trains now have improved mobile phone reception and Wi-Fi is now available on most trains. The First Class menu has been totally upgraded and features the very best British produce.

Cheaper

Advance fares reduced in December 2008 with some fares available from GBP5 each way between London and Birmingham, and from just GBP8 for a single journey between London and Manchester. New cheaper walk up fares introduced for local journeys in the West Midlands. On the Manchester to London route the average single fare paid has actually fallen from GBP45.12 in 2008 to GBP39.81 in 2009, a reduction of 11.7 percent. The new Best Fare Finder facility recently introduced on our website helps customers get the best value fares.

Quicker

Faster journey times are backed up with improved ticket retailing facilities and more Fast Ticket machines at key stations. At London Euston the number of Fast Ticket machines has doubled from 17 to 34.

Simpler

Improved ticket buying facilities - e-ticket and Mobitix - allow customers to print their own tickets or receive them on their mobile phones.

Virgin Trains Media Information

Images of Virgin Trains and the company’s operations are available on our online media website www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com. You will need to register to access the Media Resources section containing high-resolution images of our operations.

Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997; the current franchise runs to March 2012.

Virgin Rail Group is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach.

Virgin Trains has been listed as the Best Train Operator in a survey by the Institute of Customer ; voted Best Rail Company by Travel Weekly magazine; Best UK Domestic Train Service by Business Traveler magazine and favorite train operator by readers of the London Evening Standard. Virgin Trains won the coveted ‘Onboard Award’ from Cost Sector Catering for the Best of British First Class Menu, introduced as part of VHF.

Source: Virgin Trains

For further information contact the Virgin Trains Press Office on +44(0)845-000-3333