London, 2017-May-02 — /Travel PR News/ — Virgin Trains will run an additional train from London to take cycling fans to Harrogate on Saturday (29 April) to see the Tour de Yorkshire.
The prestigious annual cycle race will hold its second stage from Tadcaster to Harrogate on Saturday afternoon, with the one-day Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire also taking place in the morning.
Virgin Trains is this year sponsoring the Tour’s pink King and Queen of the Mountains Classification jerseys for both races.
And it has now announced an additional service will depart from the capital on Saturday, with tickets on sale from just £16 from London King’s Cross to Harrogate, departing at 07.35 and arriving into the North Yorkshire town at 10.19. An additional direct return service will leave Harrogate at 17.00, just prior to the end of the race.
Natasha Wilding, general manager for Virgin Trains on its east coast route, said: “The Tour de Yorkshire is a special three days for the county – an amazing spectacle which is watched by millions of cycling enthusiasts.
“We were delighted to put on the extra services to help spectators travel to Harrogate to see the end of the second stage on Saturday.
“There are very affordable prices on offer to travel there and a good range of options to travel back from either Leeds, or from Harrogate the following day for those who decide to make a weekend of it.”
Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive Sir Gary Verity said: “It’s fantastic that Virgin Trains are going the extra mile to help people come and see the Tour de Yorkshire. Cycling fans in and around London now have a cheap and convenient way to experience and the action first-hand and they’ll be treated to two world-class races on their arrival.”
Travel to Harrogate on Saturday 29 April starts at £16 from London King’s Cross and can be booked via Virgin Trains’ website: www.virgintrainseastcoast.com.
The extra service will depart London King’s Cross at 07.35, before calling at Stevenage at 07.56, Grantham at 08.42, Doncaster at 09.15, Wakefield Westgate at 09.35, Leeds at 09.48. For those wishing to make quick exit, an additional return direct service will leave Harrogate station at 17.00 with fares available from £16. Those spectators wanting to watch the very end of the race after this time can return on services via Leeds later that day.
About Virgin Trains:
Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the East Coast and West Coast inter-city routes under the Virgin Trains brand. Together, they are on track to revolutionise rail travel across the UK.
The combined network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, York and London.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains as one of the top long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.
On the East Coast route, £140m is being invested to create a more personalised travel experience. We have already invested £21m to completely revamp our existing fleet and customers can now benefit from 42 additional services (22,000 extra seats) per week between Edinburgh and London. 2018 will see the introduction of completely new Azuma trains being built in the UK by Hitachi.
The West Coast route has a proud record of challenging the status quo – from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.
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Source: Virgin Trains