Press release -
Virgin Trains pulls out all the stops to keep West Coast between England and Scotland
Virgin Trains have worked with industry partners to ensure services continue to run after following Network Rail’s decision to close this part of the route until they are sure it is safe to run trains over Lamington viaduct, a section of the West Coast Mainline between Carlisle and Scotland.
Virgin Trains customers travelling along the West Coast between Scotland and England will experience extended journeys until the first week of March, but regular services are in operation.
Virgin Trains East Coast services are unaffected.
Phil Bearpark, Executive Director for Operations and Projects at Virgin Trains, said: “Safety is our priority and we fully support Network Rail in their work to repair the Lamington viaduct. We have worked really hard with our industry partners, ScotRail and Network Rail, to put on regular shuttle services between Carlisle and Glasgow with a diversionary service via Dumfries. This means that journeys take around an hour longer than normal but customers travelling between Glasgow and Carlisle are able to take a replacement train rather than a bus."
Customers travelling between Edinburgh and Carlisle and destinations in North West England and the West Midlands are able to use a replacement bus service.
Customers are advised to check before they travel. Details of the shuttle train service and replacement bus services can be found at www.virgintrains.com
ENDS
Categories
- trains
- regional news
- routes & stations
- west coast
About Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned by Virgin Group (51%) and Stagecoach (49%). Virgin Trains has operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997, serving key UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. In June 2014 the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded VRG a new franchise until at least April 2017.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. We provide the most frequent long-distance rail service in Europe (London - Manchester and London – Birmingham, both every 20 minutes).
Since 1997, Virgin Trains has introduced over 70 new trains at a cost of £1.5 billion. The service carries more than 34.5 million passengers a year and Virgin Trains employs approximately 3,290 staff.
Virgin Trains customers consistently rate the company as one of the top long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Passenger Survey (NPS) commissioned by industry watchdog “Passenger Focus”.
Visit the Virgin Trains Media Room - www.virgintrains.co.uk/mediaroom - for the latest news, images and videos. Subscribe here for regular news from Virgin Trains.
Press Office: 0845 000 3333. Company website: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/.
About Virgin Trains East Coast
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 in March 2015, serving key UK cities including London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. The franchise will last until at least 31 March 2023.
Visit the Virgin Trains East Coast Media Centre at: www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/media-centre for the latest news and images.
