Press release -
‘DURHAM CATHEDRAL’ TRAIN ARRIVES FOR A SPECIAL DEPARTURE
Virgin Trains unveils specially designed locomotive to mark the retirement of the Dean of Durham
Virgin Trains today (29 September 2015) unveiled a locomotive specially designed to celebrate Durham Cathedral and the retirement of the Dean of Durham, The Very Revered Michael Sadgrove.
Locomotive 91114 proudly features a ‘Durham Cathedral’ name plate and has been given an extensive design-makeover by Virgin Trains to include a silhouette of the historic building, St Cuthbert’s Cross and other details from the architecture of the Cathedral.
The train cab also features the name ‘The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove, Dean of Durham” along with the dates of his service to mark his retirement.
Dean of Durham, The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove welcomed the train as it arrived at Durham station today before joining the service to Newcastle where the train was officially blessed.
Durham Cathedral Choristers sang to customers at Durham and Newcastle stations as well during the journey between the two cities on the East Coast Main Line. The Dean used the on-board address system to deliver a short message to those on-board the service.
Michael Sadgrove said: “It is truly an honour to have a train named after Durham Cathedral and I am humbled to see my name on the cabin of the locomotive too.
“Throughout my time here as Dean of Durham, I have travelled along this stretch of railway line and, along with so many others, marvelled at the breathtaking view the stretch into Durham affords of the Cathedral.
“For so many, that view of Durham Cathedral is a symbol of ‘coming home’, a feeling that we have been privileged to share for the last 12 years, and it will remain a special view to us forever.”
An official blessing was performed by The Dean of Durham at Newcastle station along with Railway Chaplain for the Newcastle area, Helen Bartlett.
David Horne, Virgin Trains Managing Director, said: “We’re honoured The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove is launching and blessing our newly designed ‘Durham Cathedral’ locomotive as his final official engagement as the Dean of Durham. We’ve worked closely with the Durham Cathedral community to create this design and I’m confident our customers like it when it’s out and about on our route promoting this amazing city with spectacular views to the rest of the UK.”
ENDS
Topics
- Public Transport
Categories
- east coast
- trains
- regional news
- routes & stations
Regions
- England
Contact the Virgin Trains East Coast Press Office: 0116 366 3988 during office hours (09.00 - 17.30 Mon-Fri). Outside these times, and for urgent media enquiries only, please call 08700 005151 and ask for the duty Virgin Trains East Coast press officer to be paged.
Virgin Trains East Coast is the brand name of InterCity Railways Ltd (ICR), which is owned by Stagecoach Group (90%) and Virgin Group (10%). Virgin Trains East Coast began operating services on the East Coast Main Line on Sunday 1 March 2015, serving key UK cities including London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. In November 2014 the Department for Transport awarded ICR a new franchise until at least 31 March 2023.
Virgin Trains East Coast is committed to delivering a high speed, high quality service with new services, faster and more frequent journeys, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. More than £140m is to be invested in delivering improved service and a more personalised travel experience for customers.
Visit the Virgin Trains East Coast Media Centre at: http://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/media-centre for the latest news and images.
STAGECOACH GROUP
• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 38,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,300 buses and coaches. Around 2.8 million passenger journeys are made on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Group’s business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It is also the majority shareholder (90%) in the new Virgin Trains East Coast franchise and has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, airport express services, contracted, charter and sightseeing services.
