Press release -
First Minister launches new Flying Scotsman train
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has today unveiled Virgin’s new ‘Flying Scotsman’ train, celebrating one of the most famous names in railway history.
Virgin Trains, which runs a four-hour ‘Flying Scotsman’ express service from Edinburgh to London, has re-liveried a locomotive to promote rail travel to and from Scotland.
This marks a major milestone in the ‘Virginising’ of its fleet of trains into a distinctive Virgin red, as it continues to attract more people to travel on its trains, particularly between the UK’s two capital cities.
Today’s unveiling took place at Edinburgh Waverley station on the same day that Virgin Trains announced a £16m contract to refurbish engines for its High Speed Trains, which are serviced and maintained at its Edinburgh depot.
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, said: “For over 150 years the Flying Scotsman service has connected Edinburgh and London by the historic East Coast rail route. It is wonderful to see the name of the Flying Scotsman train kept alive on the route with a new, contemporary design.
“I am also delighted that the refurbishment of Virgin’s diesel engines will draw on the local skills and talents of the Craigentinny workforce.”
David Horne, Managing Director at Virgin Trains on the east coast route, said: “We are thrilled to continue the legendary name of the Flying Scotsman.
“Flying Scotsman trains brought style to the railways for many years. Our new train is a design twist on the legendary Flying Scotsman, recreating the glamour of rail travel for the 21st century, using our distinctive Virgin brand and style.
“The re-livery of our fleet in Virgin red is now almost complete, but we felt we just had to create a unique look to promote our Flying Scotsman and travel to and from Scotland.
“We look forward to welcoming customers on-board and providing them with a great Virgin customer experience.”
Virgin Trains will also launch a new service from Stirling to London on 14 December 2015, and from May 2016, four additional return services will be launched between Edinburgh and London.
The company has signed a £16m deal with engine manufacturer MTU to refurbish all 35 diesel engines for its fleet of High Speed Trains. The engines will be fitted at its Craigentinny depot, in Edinburgh over the next two years.
David Horne added: “This new engine replacement programme will ensure the continued strong performance of Virgin Trains’ High Speed Train fleet until the introduction of new Super Express Trains from 2018.
“We are pleased that the work to install the engines, which will also be in Virgin red, will take place in Edinburgh. We continue to play a key role in the economy of the Capital and Scotland as a whole, where more than 700 of our workforce are based.”
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- east coast
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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.
