Virgin Trains, a UK-based train company, has announced extra seats on trains travelling to Glasgow, in Scotland, with the addition of new services.
The company proposes to add around 1,750 seats daily to its existing schedule of trains, with the addition of two extra services to Glasgow, on the West Coast Main Line. The new schedule, once implemented, will operate a train every hour to Glasgow, from London. The route will also include Carlisle and Penrith North Lakes stations.
Karen Hattie, the general manager for Virgin Trains in Scotland and Cumbria, said, ‘Overall passenger numbers have more than doubled on our routes. Demand for travel between Glasgow, Cumbria and London has grown steadily since the last big timetable improvement in 2008-9. The extra capacity from December will provide a great opportunity for even more passengers to enjoy the service.’
The new total of 15 Pendolino tilting trains travelling each way daily will see double the number of weekday services offered between Glasgow Central and London Euston, since 1997.
The stations of Carlisle, Seascale, and Dalton, will also be benefiting from access humps for passengers who have difficulty getting off trains at platforms that are too low for them to negotiate. Developed by Network Rail, the company that operates the UK’s railway network, the new humps will function as a raised section of the platform, located close to the disabled access doors on the trains.
Stuart Middleton, the general manager of Lancashire and Cumbria, for Network Rail, said, ‘The easier access areas were developed directly from Cumbria’s pioneering scheme at Harrington station. They have been introduced at numerous stations in England and Wales and we hope they will be equally well received at the latest stations.’
