Virgin Trains East Coast is "targeting" business travellers with new initiatives over the next few years.
Passengers on the rail firm's Virgin Trains East Coast service will now see Standard Anytime flexible fares reduced by 10 per cent on its London to Leeds and Edinburgh services. This came into force yesterday.
It comes as Virgin Trains East Coast aims to capture a greater market share from domestic airlines and as it approaches the 100th day of business since taking over the franchise in March (see news, November 2014).
There will also be a more flexible reservation system allowing bookings to be made closer to departure times.
Virgin said this will be attractive to business travellers that want to make "last minute" reservations. And passengers will see faster journey times, 65 new "Super Express" trains from 2018, and an improved catering service.
Virgin Trains East Coast, which expects to carry over 20 million passengers this year with 50 per cent travelling on business, said passengers can also earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles on rail tickets purchased.
Read a review of a first class journey on Virgin Trains from London to Manchester here.
Tom Newcombe
