Press release -

Annual charter trains raises in excess of £10k for charity

  • Virgin Trains, The Railway Magazine and Direct Rail Services Limited donate £10k to worthy causes
  • The Mental Health Foundation receive cheque for £6,750
  • The third annual charity charter train brings the amount raised to in excess of £60k

The Mental Health Foundation has been given a Christmas boost thanks to Direct Rail Services, The Railway Magazine and Virgin Trains. The three joined forces in September to run a special train from Chester with proceeds destined for the charity.

With staff once again donating their time for free, ‘The Independent Yorkshireman’ proved a big hit with enthusiasts, with close to 300 customers enjoying the day out to Scarborough via Stafford, Manchester and York behind two Class 37 locomotives.

The final figure raised, £10k has been split between The Mental Health Foundation and Direct Rail Services’ community fund which supports a number of local good causes around the UK.

This brings the total amount of money raised from the annual charity charter, which first ran in 2014, to just over £60k. Previous beneficiaries have included the Royal British Legion and the Great North and North West Air Ambulances Services.

“We all have ups and downs and we can all improve our ability to cope with what life throws at us,” explained Simarjeet Kaur of Virgin Trains. “One in four adults is likely to have a mental health problem in any year. This has a profound impact on the lives of tens of millions of people in the UK, and can affect their ability to sustain relationships, work productively, or have a satisfying personal life. That’s why our partnership with the Mental Health Foundation is something we are proud of and have been working hard to raise money to support the fantastic work they do.

“At a time when the railway industry is often accused of not working together this is a great example of what can be achieved,” added Chris Milner, Editor of The Railway Magazine. “It is such a worthy cause and one that we had no hesitation in supporting. I would like to personally thank everyone who helped make it happen, especially our readers who once again got right behind us.”

Mark Rowland, the Mental Health Foundation’s Director of Fundraising and Communications added, “The Mental Health Foundation is enormously grateful to Direct Rail Services, The Railway Magazine and Virgin Trains. Mental health is an issue that touches us all in some way. Having made progress in improving physical health, we now need to invest in mental health so that people and communities can thrive. This generous donation will enable us to help more people - working directly with those at risk of developing mental health problems and providing information more widely on the steps we can all take to sustain good mental health.”

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About Virgin Trains:

Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the East Coast and West Coast inter-city routes under the Virgin Trains brand. Together, they are on track to revolutionise rail travel across the UK.

The combined network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, York and London.

Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains as one of the top long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.

On the East Coast route, £140m is being invested to create a more personalised travel experience. We have already invested £21m to completely revamp our existing fleet and customers can now benefit from 42 additional services (22,000 extra seats) per week between Edinburgh and London. 2018 will see the introduction of completely new Azuma trains being built in the UK by Hitachi.

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