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Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast officially takes over the operation of long-distance train services on the West Coast Main Line today, heralding a new era of intercity and future high-speed rail services in the UK.

A fully liveried train bearing the franchise’s new branding with its distinctive logo will travel from Euston Station stopping at Coventry, Birmingham International, Stafford, Preston, Crewe, Carlisle and Motherwell before arriving in Glasgow in the early evening.

It departed yesterday from London Euston, at the presence of His Excellency, Raffaele Trombetta, the Italian Ambassador to the UK, Matthew Gregory and Orazio Iacono named the train ‘Pride and Prosperity’ in recognition of the values the new railway will bring.

The Avanti name, (Italian for Let’s Go, and Forward) symbolises progress and movement and the triangular logo represents the three geographic points of the 400-mile long West Coast Main Line that connects London with towns and cities across England, North Wales and Scotland.

FirstGroup and Trenitalia have taken over the franchise from Virgin Trains who ran the service for 22 years.

The new partnership brings a package of improvements for customers. The 56 Pendolino trains will be completely refurbished to as new condition, with 25,000 new seats, more reliable Wi-Fi, and power sockets for all passengers. By 2022, there will be 263 extra train services every week to more places and a fleet of new, state of the art intercity trains will replace the current Voyager trains. There’ll also be simplified fares, improved on-board catering and compensation if trains are delayed by 15 minutes.

Stations will be also be improved with refreshed waiting rooms, better customer facilities, more car park spaces and greater accessibility for passengers with additional travel needs.

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