Virgin Trains is changing the face of long distance rail travel with its revolutionary new trains that are improving frequencies and bringing faster journey times.
Two distinct groups of services are operated with Pendolinos running out of London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow and CrossCountry Voyagers connecting over 100 towns and cities across the UK without the need to cross London.
The company prides itself on providing high levels of customer service. On weekdays all first class customers are served complimentary refreshments at wide reclining seats with tables and conveniently placed power points for charging laptops and mobiles. If its relaxation you are after then there is an at-seat audio system with up to 14 channels to choose from with complimentary headphones available.
Standard class passengers also benefit from power points and an at-seat audio system while on all trains there is a shop which sells a range of sandwiches, drinks and hot snacks.
On the West Coast Main Line, Virgin Trains operates half hourly services from Euston to Manchester and Birmingham with hourly schedules to Liverpool and Preston and eight departures each weekday to Glasgow. Journey times have been dramatically improved with a fastest schedule between Manchester and London for example of just 2h 06m.
CrossCountry Voyagers travel virtually the length of the country with one particular service linking every weekday Dundee with Penzance, a distance of 702 miles. The main hub of the network is however at Birmingham from where two trains per hour depart to Derby, Sheffield, York, Newcastle, Manchester, Bristol, Oxford and Reading. Other hourly services continue to Devon, Hampshire, Dorset, Edinburgh, Preston, Carlisle and Glasgow.
Virgin Trains offers a wide range of competitive fares but the message is book ahead if you want the cheapest rates. For leisure travel, the Value Advance product can provide some amazing deals such as just £12.00 single from London to Manchester. For business travellers there is a Business Advance range for both standard and first class travel provided bookings are made by 1800 hours before day of travel. A fare of £112.50 can buy you one way first class travel between London and Manchester that of course will include complimentary refreshments and, if before 0930, a full English breakfast.
With the motorways becoming ever more crowded surely now is the time to consider taking the train.
Two distinct groups of services are operated with Pendolinos running out of London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow and CrossCountry Voyagers connecting over 100 towns and cities across the UK without the need to cross London.
The company prides itself on providing high levels of customer service. On weekdays all first class customers are served complimentary refreshments at wide reclining seats with tables and conveniently placed power points for charging laptops and mobiles. If its relaxation you are after then there is an at-seat audio system with up to 14 channels to choose from with complimentary headphones available.
Standard class passengers also benefit from power points and an at-seat audio system while on all trains there is a shop which sells a range of sandwiches, drinks and hot snacks.
On the West Coast Main Line, Virgin Trains operates half hourly services from Euston to Manchester and Birmingham with hourly schedules to Liverpool and Preston and eight departures each weekday to Glasgow. Journey times have been dramatically improved with a fastest schedule between Manchester and London for example of just 2h 06m.
CrossCountry Voyagers travel virtually the length of the country with one particular service linking every weekday Dundee with Penzance, a distance of 702 miles. The main hub of the network is however at Birmingham from where two trains per hour depart to Derby, Sheffield, York, Newcastle, Manchester, Bristol, Oxford and Reading. Other hourly services continue to Devon, Hampshire, Dorset, Edinburgh, Preston, Carlisle and Glasgow.
Virgin Trains offers a wide range of competitive fares but the message is book ahead if you want the cheapest rates. For leisure travel, the Value Advance product can provide some amazing deals such as just £12.00 single from London to Manchester. For business travellers there is a Business Advance range for both standard and first class travel provided bookings are made by 1800 hours before day of travel. A fare of £112.50 can buy you one way first class travel between London and Manchester that of course will include complimentary refreshments and, if before 0930, a full English breakfast.
With the motorways becoming ever more crowded surely now is the time to consider taking the train.