13.02.09
New Virgin Trains’ services bring massive boost to Chester
Chester’s prospects for beating the economic downturn are to be boosted by the introduction of frequent direct trains to London, seven days a week. Acknowledging Chester’s Roman heritage, centurions will join passengers on the 16 February 0710 Euston to Chester service, and run a competition with great prizes for those on board.
Virgin Trains will introduce a new timetable on 16 February, dramatically improving weekday services to and from Chester. This adds to improvements made to weekend services in December.
13 direct trains to and from London will run Monday to Friday, with a typical journey time of 2 hours 5 minutes. Regular direct trains run at weekends too, with typical journey times of 2 hours 15 minutes.
There is good news for business travellers, who will be able to catch early direct trains, arriving in London at 0836 or in Chester at 0912.
For leisure travellers shorter journey times and direct trains make day trips more attractive. Weekend visitors will be able to finish work in London and be in Chester in time for Friday dinner, taking their pick of six direct trains to return to the capital on Sundays. And off-peak fares start from just £8.
Virgin Trains Chief Executive Tony Collins said:
‘The new weekday Chester timetable is the final element in massive improvements to our services following the £9bn upgrade of the West Coast mainline by Network Rail. More seats and reduced journey times are huge wins for passengers. We are looking forward to providing a great service to a great city.’
Chris Brown, Chief Executive of Visit Chester and Cheshire said:
'We are delighted to see these major improvements. It is fantastic news for the region and opens up opportunities both for bringing increased leisure and business tourism to Chester and Cheshire from London, as well as opening the doors for commuters. We are very pleased to be working with Virgin Trains in this exciting collaborative venture.’
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