Press release -
Virgin Trains offers 100% digital tickets
- Virgin Trains now offer a digital version of every ticket
- Development comes as customers can now purchase digital season tickets online
- Charging pods for phones and devices also introduced at stations
Virgin Trains has become the first train operator to offer 100 percent of its ticket types digitally.
The new addition of monthly and annual season tickets in this format means that Virgin Trains now offers a digital version of every fare.
Customers can purchase their season ticket online and it will be delivered straight to a mobile device in seconds - cutting out the need to queue at stations, and the worry of losing or damaging a paper ticket.
It follows a number of technological developments and industry firsts rolled out by Virgin Trains in the last 12 months.
These include the introduction of mobile handheld ticketing devices so customers can buy directly from station staff, free Wi-Fi on trains and Track ‘n’ Travel online – which keeps passengers up to date on the status of their journey.
Sarah Copley, Executive Director, Commercial, Virgin Trains, said: “Buying or renewing a season ticket is now so much easier as it can be done anytime, including from your phone. Offering 100% of our tickets digitally is more evidence of our ongoing commitment to innovation and our customer service.
“Digital tickets have many advantages. For example, because they allow us to link up our different systems customers can claim compensation much more quickly if there are delays.”
As the use of e-tickets increases and more customers rely on a charged phone, Virgin Trains has also introduced charging points at information podiums at various stations.
London Euston, Crewe, Preston and Manchester Piccadilly have introduced the wireless and cable charging points to give customers a ready boost of battery power, removing any anxiety about arriving at the stations with digital tickets on an uncharged phone.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Season tickets are now sold online via www.virgintrains.com/digitalseasons. They can also be found via our mobile App.
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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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