Virgin Trains sees surge in cross-border travel after timetable improvements

• 7% increase in Virgin Trains passengers crossing border on east coast route
• Growth follows addition of 42 new Edinburgh-London services per week
• Timetable improvements accompanied by customer service investments

Virgin Trains has seen a surge in cross-border rail travel after investing in 42 new services connecting Edinburgh to Newcastle and London.

More than 5000 additional Virgin Trains passengers are crossing the border every week on the east coast route with since the timetable change in May, new figures show.

The timetable boost has coincided with the start of a £140m investment programme which has seen refurbishment of the entire fleet interiors, launch of a new menu designed by leading chef James Martin and an overhaul of first class lounges, including at Edinburgh Waverley. Virgin Trains’ new revolutionary free onboard entertainment streaming system, BEAM, was introduced earlier this year and Wi-FI made free for First and Standard Class customers.

Between May and September, the number of passengers crossing the border in each direction grew by 7% compared to the same period last year.

The growth has been welcomed by Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport and the Islands, who said: “Cross border rail services are an undoubted success and demand continue to grow. The Scottish Government welcomed Virgin’s journey time and frequency improvements in the new franchise including the increase in services. Equally welcome is the connectivity between Scotland’s capital city, northern England, and London which will support businesses and the growing leisure markets along the East Coast. We look forward to the further planned improvements in quality and journey times, which will improve rail’s attractiveness in this market.”

Ross Smith, Director of Policy at the North East England Chamber of Commerce, added: “One of our members’ top priorities is for a connected North East, giving them easy access to other major markets and enabling more people to come to our great region, either to visit or to do business. It’s fantastic to see that these changes have paid dividends, demonstrating the value of extra services for the region.”

The timetable overhaul in May was the first major step in transforming east coast services between Edinburgh and London. In December, Virgin Trains is introducing a further three services on Sunday and a late-night service to Newcastle on Friday evenings. In 2018, roll out begins of the state-of-the-art Azuma train fleet begins, ushering in a new era of comfort and speed in intercity train travel.

David Horne, Virgin Trains’ managing director for the east coast route, said: “We’re delighted to see the positive response from customers to from the improvements we’ve made to Anglo-Scottish services. We now offer more trains connecting Edinburgh to Newcastle and London and have invested heavily in improving the quality of these services.”