Timetable boost for Manchester

Virgin Trains has today announced that it is to provide an additional 12 trains a day between Manchester and London, when its new Virgin High Frequency timetable starts in January 2009.

During the off-peak period, three trains each hour will run between the two cities. Off-peak trains will leave Manchester every 20 minutes and will take just over two hours to complete the 184 mile journey to London at an average speed of 89mph. Five trains are planned to arrive in London before 09:00, two more than in today’s timetable.

Virgin expects to provide more than 45 trains each weekday from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. Two trains each hour will operate via Stoke-on-Trent, with one via Wilmslow. Virgin’s Pendolino trains from Manchester will also serve Stockport to/from London only as well as providing a regular hourly service at Macclesfield, Crewe and Milton Keynes.

The new timetable will provide more than 5,000 additional seats between Manchester and London each weekday. And the good news for weekend travellers is that a 20 minute interval service is being planned for much of the day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Virgin Trains Business Development Director Tim Shoveller said: “This is great news for Manchester and the first time that a long distance inter city service has operated at a frequency normally seen only on suburban rail networks.

“With a 20 minute frequency passengers can throw away the timetable”, he added.

Notes to Editors

Ø From January 2009, the Virgin High Frequency timetable will also provide a train every 20 minutes between Birmingham and London and also an new hourly service between Chester and London, as part of a 32% increase in daily train services which will provide an extra 13 million seats a year across Virgin Trains’ West Coast business. Journey times on all routes will be improved.

Ø Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group and operates two rail franchises - West Coast Trains and CrossCountry Trains. Both franchises commenced in 1997. Virgin Rail Group is bidding to win the New Cross Country franchise which is due to start in November 2007.

Ø Virgin Rail Group is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach.

Ø Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group are also bidding to win for the InterCity East Coast franchise.