Virgin’s train naming commemorates Tate Liverpool’s 20th Birthday

07 October 2008

Virgin Trains has today marked the Tate Liverpool’s 20th Birthday celebrations with the naming of one of its state-of-the-art Pendolino tilting trains and outlined exciting plans for Liverpool.

Pendolino number 006 was named by Tate Liverpool’s Executive Director Andrea Nixon just minutes after it had arrived at the Liverpool’s Lime Street station, after working the 07:13 service from London Euston. Onboard were representatives from Tate London and their guests.

Virgin Trains Chief Operating Officer Chris Gibb said: “Liverpool is important to Virgin Trains, and it is important that Virgin Trains is seen as a supporter of the City as well as a transport provider. That is why we are a key sponsor of the City’s Capital of Culture Year. We have also built up solid relationships with business and commerce around the City, and one of those is with Tate Liverpool, which is celebrating its twentieth birthday year. The Tate Liverpool name on the side of a Pendolino train is our Birthday Present.”

Speaking about the event Andrea Nixon, Executive Director of Tate Liverpool said: “Tate Liverpool is an international gallery based in the heart of the region. Of our UK visitors 29% travel to us from outside North West, so it seems opportune for us to be honoured by Virgin Trains who play a major part in bringing visitors into the city to experience its wonderful visual arts offer.

Virgin Trains estimates it has delivered over half-a-million people into the City of Liverpool so far this year, not forgetting a home-sick Superlambanana which it repatriated from London’s Euston station last month. Since August – and available through until December – is a special Capital of Culture ticket offer giving 10% of selected Advance tickets between Liverpool and London (and London and Liverpool) which are bought via the internet atwww.virgintrains.com/liverpool08.

From December the cost of rail travel between Liverpool and London will also be slashed, with the price of the cheapest Advance single ticket being cut from £13 to £8 – offering remarkable value at 4.2 pence per mile (192 miles), under the price of two gallons of petrol, and far less than the average cost of motoring at 48.25p per mile. Extra morning peak trains will also connect Liverpool with London, returning from the Capital to Liverpool in the evening peak. There will also be an extra train from Liverpool to London on Sunday afternoons.

Investment is also being made by Network Rail, Virgin Trains and Merseytravel which will provide new passenger lounges and refreshment areas between platforms 7 and 8. This includes a dedicated First Class Lounge for Virgin’s business travellers. Investment is also being made at the train maintenance depot at Edge Hill, just outside Lime Street station. Funded by Network Rail and Virgin Trains, the improvements will allow Alstom to expand the maintenance and servicing it undertakes on Virgin’s Pendolino train fleet, and also handle more trains each night. From 2011 Edge Hill depot will also play a pivotal role in the commissioning of the extra Pendolino trains and additional Pendolino vehicles which have been ordered to increase capacity on the West Coast route.

Chris Gibb also praised the 179 Virgin Trains staff who are based in Liverpool and who have acted as ambassadors for both Virgin Trains and the City. The increased train service and the improvements at Edge Hill depot all secure the long term future for employment for station, on trains and engineering staff in the City.