2012-08-16 — /travelprnews.com/ — Virgin Trains is proud to have played its part in helping Britain deliver a fantastic 2012 Games experience.
Chief Operating Officer, Chris Gibb led the Virgin Trains’ planning, supported by Olympic Delivery Manager, Natasha Grice and the company’s Olympic Steering Group. Chris said: “Thanks to the positive efforts and commitment of staff, thousands of people were able to travel successfully to and from Olympics events by Virgin Trains.
“Additional trains were run every day, sometimes at short notice, including when more fans than expected headed for football matches in Coventry and Manchester.
“Our customers were full of praise for the fantastic job done by Virgin Trains’ people in welcoming guests to Britain from all over the planet, with many visitors being pleasantly surprised to find so many members of the Virgin Trains’ team able to help more effectively because of their ability to speak so many languages.”
The Virgin Trains’ team at London Euston has people from thirty-one countries, as far afield as Canada, Morocco, Nepal and Latvia. Marco Werres, an On Board Customer Service Assistant based at the station, put his language skills to good use when Brazilian fans travelled to Manchester for an evening match at Old Trafford. Marco made all his announcements in Portuguese and English, including explaining how fans could get from Manchester Piccadilly station to the ground, and giving information on the special trains the company ran to get fans back to London.
As a special treat for customers, staff at London Euston, assisted by office-based volunteers, handed out ice creams throughout the 2012 Games period and at Coventry station the treats were given away on days when the city hosted football matches. Some lucky customers also received a special teddy bear.
Throughout the Games Virgin Trains’ staff sported specially designed ‘Team VT’ polo shirts.
Virgin Trains also offered free travel to military personnel on all its services, in recognition of their contribution to ensuring security.
At Coventry, a special bus shuttle service between the station and the City of Coventry stadium, operated on behalf of the Olympic Delivery Authority, carried 26,200 spectators over the course of the eight match days in the city.
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