LONDON, 2015-9-16 — /Travel PR News/ — Birmingham International Station was the venue today for a very special ceremony as Virgin Trains named one of its trains in honour of a very extraordinary person.
Pendolino 390002 now carries the name ‘Stephen Sutton’ in recognition of a remarkable young man who touched the hearts and minds of so many.
“Stephen was an incredible person, someone from whom we can all learn so much,” commented Phil Cavender, General Manager, Virgin Trains.
“His train will be seen the length and breadth of the country from London to Liverpool, Manchester, Scotland and of course both his and our home, the West Midlands. It is only right Stephen’s inspiring story lives on and we are overwhelmed by the support of his family in allowing us name one of our Pendolinos in his honour.”
Unveiling the striking new name was a very proud mum Jane Sutton.
“Standing here today to unveil a nameplate bearing Stephen’s name, on this Virgin Trains Pendolino, makes me an unbelievably proud mum.
“I understand it’s only the fourth time (1) Virgin Trains has named one of its Pendolino trains in honour of an individual. So I do appreciate what a privilege this is. Thousands of people will see this train travelling up and down the West Coast Main Line which will only help to reinforce ‘Stephen’s Story’ and remind people of Stephen’s message – ‘to make the most of every opportunity’.
“Having a train named after him was certainly not on Stephen’s bucket list. But maybe it should be added posthumously?”
After the naming, Pendolino 390002 headed to London and the first of many services that will see the train travel around 300,000 miles in the next twelve months.
Ends
(1) Previous individuals to be honoured are Chad Varah, Matthew Flinders and Chris Green
About Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned by Virgin Group (51%) and Stagecoach (49%). Virgin Trains has operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997, serving key UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. In June 2014 the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded VRG a new franchise until at least April 2017.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. We provide the most frequent long-distance rail service in Europe (London – Manchester and London – Birmingham, both every 20 minutes).
Since 1997, Virgin Trains has introduced over 70 new trains at a cost of £1.5 billion. The service carries more than 34.5 million passengers a year and Virgin Trains employs approximately 3,290 staff.
Virgin Trains customers consistently rate the company as one of the top long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Passenger Survey (NPS) commissioned by industry watchdog “Passenger Focus”.
Visit the Virgin Trains Media Room – www.virgintrains.co.uk/mediaroom – for the latest news, images and videos. Subscribe here for regular news from Virgin Trains.
Press Office: 0845 000 3333. Company website: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/.
SOURCE: Virgin Trains
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Virgin Trains names one of its trains in honour of a very extraordinary person – Stephen Sutton