Faster, Frequent, New, Better, Cheaper, Quicker, Simpler........

17 June 2009

.......Just some of the words that describe Virgin Trains improvements following VHF timetable introduction

Faster
Journey times significantly reduced following the start of the VHF timetable in December 2008, with typical journey times from London to Birmingham (1h 22min); from London to Manchester (2hr 06min); London to Liverpool (2hr 08min) and fastest ever London to Glasgow flagship service (4hr 10min).

Frequent
Three trains an hour from London to Birmingham; and London to Manchester – including weekends. The most frequent long-distance inter-city service in Europe. With a train every 20 minutes there is no need for a timetable! The third train each hour on the Manchester route is the second major increase in frequency in the last five years – in September 2004 frequency increased from one train an hour to two.

New
New hourly service operating between London and Chester, with a journey time of just two hours.

Better
Record numbers of passengers have voted with their feet and abandoned domestic air travel between Manchester and London, with Virgin Trains now having almost 80 percent of the rail/air market share – up from a third in 2004. Trains now have improved mobile phone reception and Wi-Fi is now available on most trains. The First Class menu has been totally upgraded and features the very best British produce.

Cheaper
Advance fares reduced in December 2008 with some fares available from £5 each way between London and Birmingham, and from just £8 for a single journey between London and Manchester. New cheaper walk up fares introduced for local journeys in the West Midlands. On the Manchester to London route the average single fare paid has actually fallen from £45.12 in 2008 to £39.81 in 2009, a reduction of 11.7 percent. The new Best Fare Finder facility recently introduced on our website helps customers get the best value fares.

Quicker
Faster journey times are backed up with improved ticket retailing facilities and more Fast Ticket machines at key stations. At London Euston the number of Fast Ticket machines has doubled from 17 to 34.

Simpler
Improved ticket buying facilities – e-ticket and Mobitix – allow customers to print their own tickets or receive them on their mobile phones.