Virgin Trains has commemorated another prize winning athlete with the naming of Pendolino train 390007 after Long Jumper Abigail Irozuru.
Virgin Trains has continued to highlight its sponsorship of the travel for a number of sportsmen and women who hope to represent their country in upcoming major sporting events.
The naming took place on 28 September at Wolverhampton station.
The Virgin Trains sponsorship initiative is supported by Alstom, which built and maintains Virgin’s Pendolino train fleet.
The initiative, ‘Supporting British Athletes’, enables a number of sportsmen and women to attend training camps, key competitions and championships up and down the country.
With the numerous events happening in the run up to the sporting events in 2012 in London and 2014 in Glasgow the ability to train and take part in competitive events is an important part of these athlete’s careers.
Abigail has competed as a junior and now an adult in competitions across the nation. She is a seasoned international competitor too and has racked up several overseas appearances for the UK.
Abigail said; “Training and competing across the nation is amazingly great fun but the travel can take it out of you. Having the support of Virgin Trains means that I have been able to travel comfortably and stress-free, arriving at each event ready to win.
“Having a train named after me is so exciting and I would absolutely love to get to travel on my namesake on my way to big competitions; reminding me of my talent… that would be the ultimate confidence-booster!”
Paul Holland, General Manager Wolverhampton at Virgin Trains, said:
“We think it’s fantastic that Abigail has agreed to have one of our trains named after her. At Wolverhampton we are very proud to be helping British athletes on their journey to the podium.”
Richard Woodroofe, Alstom Transport UK’s Mainline Operations Director said:
“We are proud to accompany Virgin Trains in this great initiative to support British sporting talent. Providing the trains for service every day, Alstom teams can identify with the drive and commitment athletes like Abigail need to deliver top performance and wish her well for the challenges ahead.”
The train naming comes after tickets for travel to the London during the 2012 sporting events went on sale.
