Member Article

Local youngster's ideas win in Virgin Trains competition

Elliot’s winning ideas to inspire future developments of the new Azuma train

Ideas include fully digitised carriages for at-your-fingertips service

Elliot Croft, 9 from Hull, was named winner in the Virgin Trains’ ‘Train of the Future’ competition. Now, the train operator is set to use his designs to inspire the development of its Azuma trains, coming to the east coast in 2018.

Virgin Trains asked children to imagine what trains would be like in decades to come and Elliot’s drawing was amongst the six winning designs, which included floor-to-ceiling clear walls for optimal viewing, double decker layout to maximise capacity, 20-plus-seater business booths for meetings on the move, minimal wheel-track contact for smooth motion, and a revolutionary pod system to minimise dwell-time.

Elliot’s idea includes innovative technology in the form of a touch screen televisions with information at your fingertips, and robotic luggage lockers for quick and easy access. The nine year old’s combination of practicality with visionary thinking caught the judges’ eyes, resulting in his original drawing being developed by professional designers into a full concept designs.

Virgin Trains is now set to use Elliot’s designs as inspiration for the development of its Azuma trains, coming to the east coast in 2018. Set to revolutionise travel on the east coast, the Azuma will be one of the most advanced trains on the UK’s rail network, and will embody the customer-centric approach which Virgin Trains is famous for. With 65 trains providing an extra 12,200 seats for a new and expanded timetable, the fleet of Azumas will increase capacity into King’s Cross by 28 per cent during peak time.

David Horne, Managing Director of Virgin Trains on the East Coast, said: “The Virgin Azuma is set to be the most state of the art train on the network when it arrives in 2018 so what better way to celebrate this than to work with our younger customers to find out what they would like to see on our exciting new trains. Elliott’s ideas have given us a refreshing outlook on what the future could hold and will help us towards our goal of revolutionising every element of our customers’ experiences.”

ENDS -

Notes to Editors

For further information contact Hope & Glory PR:

jessie.godwyn@hopeandglorypr.com / 020 3588 9754 / 07766312888

phoebe.mellor@hopeandglorypr.com / 0207 566 9736 / 07795577190

alex.royce@hopeandglorypr.com / 020 7014 5316 / 07935856014

About Virgin Azuma

The Virgin Azuma will also have:

Faster acceleration: The Azumas will accelerate more quickly, slicing up to 22 minutes off East Coast journeys and making 4hr London-Edinburgh journeys, and 2hr London-Leeds journeys, the norm. They will accelerate from 0-125mph at least a minute quicker than the current fleet New direct services: The faster journeys will make direct routes to new destinations such as Middlesbrough and Huddersfield possible, as well as a big increase in through services to places such as Harrogate and Lincoln Greater comfort: The trains will have some of the best leg-room on the rail network, as well as ergonomically designed seats in both first and standard Virgin’s unique feel: Both the interior and the exterior of the new fleet with have that distinctive Virgin atmosphere Lower emissions: The trains will be lighter and more energy efficient, making them some of the most environmentally friendly in the UK Improved facilities: The trains will have faster and free Wi-Fi, an improved traffic-light reservation system, power sockets for every seat and more overhead luggage space Buffet cars: An onboard shop is a key part of the experience for passengers

About Virgin Trains

Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the East Coast and West Coast inter-city routes under the Virgin Trains brand. Together, they are on track to revolutionise rail travel across the UK.

The combined network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, York and London.

Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains as one of the top long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.

On the East Coast route, £140m is being invested to create a more personalised travel experience. This includes a major fleet revamp, smarter stations and exciting new routes. From May 2016, there will be 42 additional services (22,000 extra seats) per week between Edinburgh and London. 2018 will see the introduction of completely new Azuma trains being built in the UK by Hitachi.

The West Coast route has a proud record of challenging the status quo - from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.

Visit the Virgin Trains Media Room - virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room - for the latest news, images and videos. Subscribe here for regular news from Virgin Trains.

Press Office: 0845 000 3333.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by BDaily .