Train Companies step up efforts to help stranded britons get home

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February 2012

January 2012

Train Companies step up efforts to help stranded Britons get home

20/04/2010

Train companies are putting on extra services to and from UK airports and ferry ports to help passengers stranded by the Icelandic volcanic eruption.

Operators have been taking measures to help stranded travellers since the volcano began to erupt last week, by putting on additional and extended services between major cities and increasingly to and from ferry ports.

As restrictions on flying are expected to ease, train companies are responding by strengthening services to and from cities near major airports:

Virgin has committed to run its programme of additional services until Friday. There is additional capacity between London and Scotland, London and Birmingham, London and Chester, and London and Holyhead, offering 4,760 extra seats per day. See www.virgintrains.co.uk for details.
East Coast is running extra and extended services until Friday between London and Edinburgh and London and Newcastle. See www.eastcoast.co.uk for details.

Demand for train journeys to and from stations near passenger ferry ports has risen sharply as Britons travel by sea to get back home, with many stations seeing at least triple the number of passengers than normal and some more than 10 times the usual demand. Operators have met the surge in demand by putting on additional services and running longer trains than normal:

Arriva Trains Wales has added extra services and carriages to existing trains serving Holyhead and Fishguard Harbour, from where ferries depart for and arrive from Ireland. The extra services will provide seats for more than 3,000 additional passengers every day while air travel disruption continues. See www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk for details.
ScotRail has added extra carriages to existing services between Glasgow and Stranraer for today and tomorrow and potentially beyond that.
National Express East Anglia has seen a five-fold increase in passenger numbers from Harwich to London, and is providing extra services and working with ferry companies to make sure demand is met. See www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com for details.

A spokesperson for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: “Train companies are experiencing an increase in demand as air passengers shift to rail services between cities and their airports, and to and from passenger ferry ports.

“Operators are working hard to respond to the rapidly changing circumstances and where it’s feasible, they are providing extra services and taking other measures to help stranded air passengers to get home as quickly and easily as possible.”