Virgin to run hourly trains on west coast main line

SCOTTISH passengers will finally have hourly trains on the west coast main line from December when Virgin Trains adds two extra daily services on the Glasgow-London route.

The improvements will be introduced by Virgin, which will continue running the trains following a UK Government contest for the next franchise being abandoned, although they had been previously planned whoever had won the contract.

From 10 December, the number of tilting Pendolino electric trains running the entire length of the 400-mile will be increased to 15 daily each way - which is also double the weekly total since Virgin took over the franchise in 1997.

The extra services for Glasgow will be created by extending current Glasgow-Lancaster trains north.

Karen Hattie, general manager for Virgin Trains in Scotland and Cumbria, said: “Overall passenger numbers have more than doubled on our routes. Demand for travel between Glasgow, Cumbria and London has grown steadily since the last big timetable improvement in 2008-9.”