Press release -
Virgin Trains gets behind The Big LEGO® Brick Hospital
- The Big LEGO® Brick Hospital spends a week at Runcorn Station
- Virgin Trains’ team, with help from customers, build two new rooms for model hospital
- Over half a million LEGO® bricks expected to be used to help reach target of £500,000 for new cancer hospital in the North West
Runcorn Station played host to The Big LEGO® Brick Hospital this week. Customers were given the chance to buy a brick for £1 and help build the model, which when finished is will be one of the biggest ever LEGO® brick structures in the UK, measuring 1.6m x 2.8m x 1.6m.
In addition, Virgin Trains donated £4,000, with the station team showing their skills to build two specialist rooms for the model, which will contain more than 100 rooms and 200 mini figures, such as doctors and nurses.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity’s campaign is aiming to raise £500,000 towards construction of the specialist hospital in the centre of Liverpool and improvements to their Wirral site. The real new cancer hospital is set to open its doors in 2020.
“Clatterbridge has provided some incredible support for cancer patients and their families in the Wirral and wider North West region,” explained Gary Campbell, Virgin Trains Station Manager for Runcorn Station.
“I know first-hand about their amazing work as they treated my mum for breast cancer three years ago and we were only too pleased to help promote The Big LEGO® Brick Hospital. It’s a fun and interactive way to raise some much-needed funds.”
Customers who missed this week out can purchase their own bricks by visiting www.biglegobrickhospital.org.uk
Katrina Bury, Head of The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, said: "I would like to thank Virgin Trains for their generous sponsorship towards the construction cost of the new state of the art cancer hospital in Liverpool.
"They also gave us the fabulous opportunity to showcase the Big LEGO® Brick Hospital at Runcorn Station, so train passengers could buy bricks and help build the model. We very much welcome this wonderful support and the opportunity to spread the word about the valuable services provided by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to the people of the region.”
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About The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre
Whether it’s their Centres in Wirral & Aintree, their blood cancer Unit at the Royal, or one of their clinics across the region, the chances are that if you live in Merseyside & Cheshire and have been affected by cancer, then you’ve experienced the outstanding care given by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
As the impact of cancer is higher here in the North West region than anywhere else in the country, they know there’s more to be done, which is why we are working to transform cancer care for everybody. Building a brand new cancer hospital in the heart of Liverpool is part of that journey, and it’s being supported by their £15m charity appeal, to ensure we build the best hospital we can.
The new cancer hospital – which is taking shape – is set to open its doors in 2020, so The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity is setting the people of Merseyside & Cheshire a challenge. Can we beat the build in LEGO bricks? For more information on our charity or The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, visit our main website www.biglegobrickhospital.org.uk
About Virgin Trains
Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the West Coast inter-city route under the Virgin Trains brand, revolutionising travel on one of the UK’s key rail arteries.
The network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and London.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains ahead of other long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.
Virgin Trains has a proud record of challenging the status quo - from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme, introducing the industry-leading onboard entertainment streaming service, BEAM, and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.
Virgin Trains operated the East Coast route between March 1, 2015 and June 24, 2018. In that time, we invested £75m to create a more personalised travel experience, including over £40m in the existing fleet. Customers have benefitted from 48 additional services between Edinburgh and London every week, and an extra 22 Saturday services between Leeds and London – a total of 1.74 million additional seats since May 2015.
Working together, the partnership railway of the public and private sectors has published a long-term plan, called In Partnership for Britain’s Prosperity, to change and improve Britain’s railway. The plan will secure almost £85bn of additional economic benefits to the country whilst enabling further investment and improvement, and contains four commitments which will see rail companies: strengthen our economic contribution to the country; improve customers’ satisfaction; boost the communities we serve; and, create more and better jobs in rail. For more information go to Britain Runs on Rail.
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