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Virgin Trains to add 10m Extra Seats by 2008

23rd November 2006 Following a 20 percent increase in West Coast passenger journeys, Virgin Trains is to increase its frequencies on its West Coast Main Line services by nearly a third by the end of 2008.

"Virgin Trains will provide ten million extra seats a year to meet rising demand," said Sir Richard Branson as he travelled West Coast Pendolino from Manchester to London.

From the end of 2008 Virgin Trains will be running 32 percent more train services on West Coast, providing ten million extra seats every year. Frequencies will be improved from two to three trains an hour between London, Birmingham and Manchester, and hourly services will run between London and Glasgow.

Also, discussions are under way with the Department for Transport to add two more coaches to each of the 53 nine-coach Pendolino trains, and with Network Rail to increase speeds to 135 mph over sections of the West Coast Main Line now being further improved.

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