Speaking at ECMA’s Westminster engagement event, David Horne Managing Director of Virgin Trains East Coast, highlighted the additional seats added to its services.
And he added VTEC had plans to go even further, with its expanded timetable delivering additional services to places including Huddersfield, Lincoln and Middlesbrough.
“This year we’ve added an extra 22,000 seats with the launch of our extra 42 weekly London-Edinburgh services and, this December, we’re adding another 13,000 seats as part of 30 changes we have made to our timetable including 16 new additional services,” Mr Horne said.
“With the launch of the Azuma, we will be adding a further 12,200 seats to our fleet, increasing capacity into Kings Cross by 28% during the peak.”
He welcomed JMP’s independent research on the benefits of upgrading the line and said it showed the importance of investment in infrastructure along the 500-mile route.