Family fun day at Stockport on Sunday 17 July

Virgin Trains’ staff at Stockport station are staging a Family Fun Day on Sunday 17 July from 10:00 until 16:00 to raise funds for children and young people’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent. Admission is free. The event will take place in the Conference Room on Platform 3 at the town’s station.

Model railway displays, provided by the Manchester Loco Society and the Romiley Methodist Railway Modellers will be operating, whilst one of Virgin Trains’ Class 57 diesel locomotives will be on display in Platform 3A and will be available for photographs. Visitors’ to the station will also be able to have a look around the drivers’ cab. There will also be a sales stand with railway books and DVDs and a raffle with train tickets and train models on offer.

A special ‘sealed bid’ auction will offer the opportunity to spend 30 minutes with the station announcer and make a train announcement.

The Mayor of Stockport Councillor Les Jones and the Mayoress Mrs Jackie Jones will visit the station at 12:00 and will be shown around the special displays and the station facilities by Virgin Trains’ Group Station Manager for the North West Sam Dixon.

CLIC Sargent is the official charity of Virgin Trains. Since 2009 the partnership has raised more than £280,000 and will continue until 2012. All the money raised from the Stockport Fun Day will help CLIC Sargent to Support families affected by childhood cancer across the UK. Virgin Trains staff at Stockport station have already raised almost £700 and have set themselves a target of raising £2,000.

“The Station Fun Day came from an idea from Niki Abnett, who works as a Customer Services Assistant on the platforms as a way of the local station team supporting CLIC Sargent, and has the full support of the local management team. It enables Virgin Trains to be seen as a part of the local community and not just a train operator”, said Lesley Ross, Virgin Trains’ Station Manager at Stockport.


Notes to Editors

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Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997.

The current franchise runs to March 2012 and the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 19 May 2011 that the Department for Transport will seek to agree acceptable terms with VRG for an extension to the current contract to December 2012. We have been short-listed for the new franchise that will start in December 2012.

CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people. It provides clinical, practical and emotional support for young cancer patients and their families, from diagnosis onwards. For more information visit www.clicsargent.org.uk

Note to sub editors: Please note that the name ‘CLIC Sargent’ should not be abbreviated to CLIC, and that the word ‘CLIC’ should always appear in capitals, as above.

Virgin Trains has been recognised in numerous industry awards. In 2010 the company has been named Best Rail Operator of the Year at the Travel Globe Awards (voted for by readers of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Evening Standard), and Best Rail Operator in the Group Leisure Awards (which we also won in 2009). In 2009 we were also voted Best UK Domestic Train Service by Business Traveller magazine for the second year running.

Virgin Trains first achieved Investors In People accreditation in 2007 and this was renewed in 2010; the IIP Gold award was achieved in 2011. In May 2011 Virgin Trains was awarded accreditation against the criteria of the European Foundation for Quality Management's (EFQM) Excellence Model.