Virgin Trains: No direct Virgin Trains services to or from London Euston on Saturday and Sunday 17/18 May

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Tuesday, 13, May 2008 12:00

Extensive improvement works are taking place in the Rugby area over the weekend of 17/18 May. This is to allow Network Rail to complete another crucial phase of the project to streamline the complicated set of junctions north and south of Rugby and enlarge the station itself for the new improved Virgin Trains timetable planned to start this December. Trains will be unable to pass through the area whilst most of this work is going on.

As a result there will be no direct Virgin Trains services to and from London Euston on Saturday 17 May and Sunday 18 May.

All Virgin Trains services from the Midlands, North West and Scotland will terminate at and start from either Birmingham International or Coventry. A frequent replacement coach service will run in both directions between Birmingham International and Northampton. This will connect with a train service running in both directions between Northampton and London Euston, serving also Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction. The train service will be three trains an hour on Saturday and two an hour on Sunday.

Services between the North Wales Coast and London Euston will run in both directions between Holyhead and Crewe only.

Passengers with Open, Saver and Season tickets travelling to and from London can also use alternative rail routes as shown below:

Glasgow/Edinburgh ? London Kings Cross (operated by National Express East

Coast)

Liverpool/Manchester ? London St Pancras International (East Midlands

Trains)

Manchester ? London Paddington (CrossCountry/First Great Western)

Birmingham ? London Marylebone (Chiltern Railways).

London Midland will be operating coaches for local passengers between Coventry and Northampton in both directions including a call at Rugby.

Passengers going to or from Nuneaton, Tamworth and Lichfield will need to travel via Birmingham New Street.

For further information passengers should contact National Rail Enquiries by visiting nationalrail.co.uk or calling 08457 48 49 50.

End

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Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997; the current franchise runs to March 2012.

Virgin Rail Group is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach.

Virgin Trains has recently been listed as the Best Train Operator in a survey by the Institute of Customer Service; came joint top of the long-distance train operators for passenger satisfaction in the National Passenger Survey and has been voted Best Rail Company by Travel Weekly magazine.