The new ‘Flying Scotsman’ express service which launched last Monday (23rd May), ran on time every day in its first week on the rails.
The news was confirmed by the train operator last Friday after a busy five days in which thousands of extra travellers switched to its trains due to ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano.
East Coast’s ‘Flying Scotsman’ service departs Edinburgh Waverley at 05.40 each weekday, stopping only at Newcastle at 07.03 and arriving at London King’s Cross at 09.40.
East Coast Commercial Director Peter Williams said:
“We are delighted by our customers’ reaction to our new Flying Scotsman service. Since we launched it, it has reached King’s Cross on time every day this week, making the 393-mile journey between the Scottish and English capitals in just four hours.
“We’ve had a very positive response from customers who have flocked to use the service following its fantastic launch.
“And, with flights grounded again this week because of yet another Icelandic ash cloud, East Coast’s trains eased the pain for travellers. We carried almost 5,000 extra passengers between Edinburgh and London on Tuesday 24th May alone.
“Our new timetable includes five more services each weekday between Edinburgh and London. This has helped us to carry more people, while we extended two services between Edinburgh and Newcastle on Wednesday to further boost the number of available seats.”
East Coast also launched a new timetable last week which will provide 117 extra services per week, more than three million additional seats and many faster journeys.
The operator also introduced major improvements for customers travelling in First Class, including a new Quiet Coach and complimentary food and drinks, served at seat for no extra charge.
Peter Williams added: “The new Flying Scotsman, improved First Class on-train service and timetable will help us to continue to grow our market share against the airlines. They represent the biggest improvements to the East Coast route for a generation and are bringing more seats, more services and many faster journeys for millions of passengers.”
The latest passenger gains for East Coast follow recent research suggesting that the train operator has been attracting more airline passengers to switch to its trains, particularly from Edinburgh and Newcastle.
