Cycle to work by train

Virgin Trains is to become one of the first flagship Bike ‘n’ Ride train companies in the country following £1m joint funding from the Department for Transport and Cycling England.

A total of 540 additional cycle storage spaces at stations are to be shared between Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly. Plans are also being drawn up for a cycle hire scheme at Manchester Piccadilly allowing commuters working in the city to complete their journeys by bike.

At Stoke-on-Trent where an extra 210 spaces will be created, Virgin Trains is working very closely with the local authority in a scheme to encourage 52% of passengers to arrive at the station by sustainable means of transport.

James Wright, Cycle Rail Project Manager for Virgin Trains said today: “Today’s announcement is all about encouraging sustainable travel for commuters and students, By providing more cycle storage at stations along the “Potteries” rail corridor together with a cycle hire scheme at Manchester Piccadilly it will be possible to have bike-train-bike journeys – a very environmentally sustainable and convenient way of travelling.”
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'East, West, home is best', says Virgin Trains

Brits in their thousands are rediscovering UK destinations for their holidays and short-breaks and are choosing Virgin Trains to get them there.

Virgin Trains, which last December launched a new high-frequency timetable, including dramatically improved weekday services to and from Chester, has revealed impressive year-on-year growth figures for leisure destinations such as Scotland, North Wales and Chester. Figures for the period May 2009-August 2009 show that people are, in particular, flocking to:

Chester + 56.8%
Glasgow + 34.3%
Holyhead + 32.9%
Bangor + 25.2%
Llundudno + 4.0%
Oxenholme + 3.5%

“The August Bank Holiday was one of the busiest for Virgin Trains and these latest figures show that staycations are here to stay. We are delighted that so many people are holidaying in the UK and so many people are choosing Virgin Trains to travel to their destinations. North Wales, the Lake District, Scotland and Chester have always had much to offer visitors in terms of great scenery, wonderful food and fascinating history. Now, with Virgin Trains improved services and faster journey times, it couldn’t be easier for people to access them,” says Graham Leech, Virgin Trains Commercial Director.

Virgin Trains hopes that the staycation phenomenon continues to grow so that customers can take advantage of the wide range of fares on offer to destinations across the UK.

Just a taster....Virgin Trains unveils its new Autumn and Winter First Class menu

Issued: 25 September 2009

The award winning First Class food offering on board Virgin Trains is introducing a new Autumn/Winter weekday menu heavily based on seasonal fresh produce. From 16 September 16 the new menu demonstrates the continued commitment to ensure the produce is sourced from British sources – many of which are near the train routes.

The food is hand-selected from a choice of suppliers with taste, quality and sustainability as key criteria, all meaning only the best of British makes it onboard.

With nationally recognised cheese producers, Joseph Heler Cheese, based in Nantwich, featuring in the Wensleydale and caramelised carrot roll and welsh lamb from Williams of Flint, Flintshire being the star of the Minted welsh lamb and vegetables, all efforts have been made to ensure a very British menu is available throughout the day.

Still present on the London to Glasgow menu is the Great British Breakfast featuring British Cumberland sausages from Russell Hume’s farms in Norfolk and Suffolk. On the London to North Wales route passengers may be able to spot Rhug Estate Organic Farm from the track and spot the farm producing both the bacon and the sausages for the route’s British Breakfast offering.

Whether returning from a business meeting or from spending time with loved ones as the nights draw in we all want a warm dinner and Virgin Trains Evening Menu includes many classics. Chilli con carne, vegetable hot pot, roast pork, stroganoff or chicken and asparagus pie slice are just a few.

Those with a sweet tooth are not forgotten with Cheesecakes, crumble slices, profiteroles and even sticky toffee and vanilla custard to tempt them. Also available is the cheese board featuring a range of British cheeses served with Scottish oatcakes and fruit bread.

Says Nic Cuthbertson, Product Development and Catering Manager at Virgin Trains: “We are very excited about our new menu and are very proud of the wide range of British producers helping us create our food offering. With many of the suppliers having received awards for their produce it demonstrates the high quality passengers will be able to try whether travelling early in the morning or late at night.

“The varied menu has been designed with our customers in mind, and we hope passengers will be wanting to travel repeatedly in order to try all the menu has to offer!”

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For further information please contact Hannah Baker on 020 7403 6900 or email hannah.baker@thespaway.com

More car parking spaces at Birmingham International station from 28 September

The new multi-storey car park at Birmingham International station will open on Monday 28 September. The expanded car park will provide an additional 835 parking spaces, making a total of 2,225 spaces available at the West Midlands station. For the safety and security of users, the car park also has CCTV throughout with 24 hour recording.

A new charging structure is also being introduced, offering substantial discounts over the full day rate for off peak and weekend users.

From 28 September all-day parking at Birmingham International will cost £8, and is the first increase in parking charges at the station for nearly five years. New reduced off-peak parking charges will be available after 10:00 on weekdays and on Saturdays and Sundays costing £5 a day. Monthly, quarterly, six monthly and annual season tickets are also available for regular peak time users, which have also been increased to align them pro-rata with the new daily rate. The new monthly ticket costs £98 effectively offering daily parking, based on 20 days use a month at just £4.90 a day. The annual ticket is prices at £980 and if used for just 45 weeks a year offers an equivalent daily parking rate of just £4.36 a day.

Virgin Trains Station Manager at Birmingham International Anne Grant said: “The limited parking facilities at Birmingham International station have caused problems for rail travellers in recent years. Now with 835 extra spaces everyone should be able to find a parking space, and the special off-peak rates should appeal to shoppers and weekend travellers.”

The car park has a new ‘Pay on Foot’ payment system, where a ticket is issued on entry to the car park. Payment must then be made at the machine prior to customers returning to their car to leave the car park.

The work at Birmingham International is part of a joint project between Virgin Trains and Network Rail to improve car parking at all 17 stations on the West Coast route which are managed by Virgin Trains. The other stations involved are: Lancaster, Penrith, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Carlisle, Oxenholme, Runcorn, Crewe, Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Wolverhampton, Rugby, Preston and Coventry.

David Golding, Network Rail's Route Enhancements Manager said: "More passengers are travelling by train than ever before and the demand for rail travel is set to continue to rise. We predict that a large proportion of these extra passengers will drive to the station, putting even more strain on the car park.”


Notes to Editors:
The full pricing structure for Birmingham International car park is:
All day (Mondays-Fridays) £8.00
Monday to Friday (after 10:00) £5.00
Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays £5.00
Monthly Season Ticket £98.00
Quarterly Season Ticket £279.00
Six-month Season Ticket £517.00
Annual Season Ticket £980.00


Virgin Trains Media Information

Images of Virgin Trains and the company’s operations are available on our online media website http://mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk/

Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997; the current franchise runs to March 2012.

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

Virgin Trains has been listed as the Best Train Operator in a survey by the Institute of Customer ; voted Best Rail Company by Travel Weekly magazine; Best UK Domestic Train Service by Business Traveler magazine and favorite train operator by readers of the London Evening Standard.

Improved breakfast menu for North Wales and Cheshire passengers

Virgin Trains is improving the breakfast selection offered to First Class passengers on its North Wales and Chester to London services. The improved menu, which includes locally sourced ingredients will be offered from Wednesday 26 August and will include:

Fresh fruit platter
Smoked salmon and scrambled egg
Breakfast Grill
Vegetarian Grill

The high quality Grill products are pre-cooked and then re-heated on the train to order. All egg products are free range whilst the bacon and sausage products are outdoor reared on the Rhug Estates in North Wales and processed by Headland Foods in Flint.

Virgin Trains Manager for North Wales Mary Kenney said: “We have listened to feedback from our customers in North Wales who told us that they would like something more substantial than the bacon or vegetarian sausage panini roll. We are sure that our customers will like the new grill products, which use locally reared ingredients, where available.”

The new breakfast menu will be available on the following trains (Monday to Fridays):
Holyhead to London – 04:59, 05:53, 06:55, 08:55.
Bangor to London – 05:16, 06:20, 07:22, 09:22
Chester to London – 06:26, 07:35, 08:35, 09:35; 10:35.
Crewe to London – 06:47, 07:54, 08:54, 09:54, 10:54.
London to Crewe – 07:10, 08:10, 09:10
London to Chester – 07:10, 08:10, 09:10.
London to Bangor – 08:10, 09:10.
London to Holyhead – 09:10

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The new breakfast grill will also be available on the 05:36 Lancaster to London service.

Images of Virgin Trains and the company’s operations are available on our online media website http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/. You will need to register to access the Media Resources section containing high-resolution images of our operations.

Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997; the current franchise runs to March 2012.

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

Virgin Trains has been listed as the Best Train Operator in a survey by the Institute of Customer ; voted Best Rail Company by Travel Weekly magazine; Best UK Domestic Train Service by Business Traveler magazine and favorite train operator by readers of the London Evening Standard.