Winning Streak for Virgin Staff
24 Oct 2004
Taking time out, Prime Minister Tony Blair mingled with staff and helped launch the UK’s first-ever 125 mph tilting train timetable at London’s Euston station.
Manchester is now barely 2 hours away. Naked ambition has driven Virgin’s superb effort to bring 21st century rail travel to Britain.
In a separate development Sonia Crosby of Virgin Trains has cajoled 45 women from the railway industry to pose nude for a calendar. Based on the WI calendar story - immortalised in film as ‘The Calendar Girls,’ - the 45 ladies plus a towel-clad Sir Richard Branson hope to raise money for the Railway Children charity by selling the calendars. Books and garden furniture are tastefully tilted to preserve modesty.
The Railway Children makes contact with runaway and abandoned children as they arrive at railway stations, when they are most at risk from adult exploitation. By joining with other street children projects, it provides the children with protection and support.
‘This is a great day for railways in Britain,’ said Mr. Blair. Since May 2003, a 9,000 strong West Coast workforce has worked a total of 24 million hours to rebuild the railway between London, Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester. An army of engineers has installed over 460 new sets of points, around 600 miles of overhead wiring, and enough ballast to fill six supertankers.
Virgin confirmed that further timetable and journey time improvements will be spread over the next 15 months and will culminate in the completion of the track engineering work to Glasgow by December 2005.
Rail staff and passengers alike are looking forward to ticking off the improvements on Miss Crosby’s calendar - month by month. For more details of the Railway Children and the calendar go to www.railwaychildren.org.uk or call 01270 583632.