Over the Christmas period, we said goodbye to our Super Voyagers as they were fully replaced by Everos in our December timetable, and celebrated one of our longest serving colleagues.

Farewell to the Super Voyager

The launch of our new timetable in December marked the end of Super Voyager’s 22-year service on the West Coast Main Line with the trains replaced by our new £350m Evero fleet. Introduced in 2002, the fleet amassed over 109 million miles whilst serving routes from London to the West Midlands, North Wales, Blackpool and Scotland.

The Evero fleet is quieter, roomier, and delivers an over two-thirds reduction in carbon. Customer benefits include wireless charging, improved Wi-Fi, more seats than the trains they replace and greater legroom thanks to a more ergonomic design, larger luggage racks and more real-time customer information screens which are easier to read.

The new trains also feature improved wheelchair spaces with contrasting carpet and a large accessibility symbol, so customers do not place their luggage in this space. There are improvements to the accessible toilets compared to the previous fleet as well as Braille and large print labels on seats.

Heart of Gold Awards

In December, Frances Phillips, our Onboard Service Manager received Heart of Gold’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 awards ceremony hosted by railway charity, Railway Benefit Fund (RBF). The award recognises Frances’ 35 year career on the railway.

Frances said: “The entire journey from being nominated to winning has been completely overwhelming. In my eyes, I am only turning up to work every day in a job that I enjoy doing. I love the daily interaction with customers, seeing the potential in staff both new and old, and helping my team on the way to achieve their goals. I have loved every part of this journey on the railway. My colleagues really make my time here special, at the end of the day, we are one big family."