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Liverpool and London |
Virgin Trains has become an official partner of the Liverpool Culture Company. The deal will see Virgin Trains, which operates high speed, high quality train services between Liverpool and London, supporting Liverpool’s year-long celebration as Capital of Culture.
Virgin Trains Sales and Marketing Director said: “We are delighted to be supporting Liverpool and its community as an Official Partner of the prestigious Capital of Culture. There are going to be some amazing events in 2008 and we look forward to getting involved. And, Capital of Culture year is just the start, we are committed to improving the region for the long-term with more trains and slashed journey times from 2009. |
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| Editor Posted Wednesday, February 06, 2008 |
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Liverpool and London |
Virgin Trains has become an official partner of the Liverpool Culture Company. The deal will see Virgin Trains, which operates high speed, high quality train services between Liverpool and London, supporting Liverpool’s year-long celebration as Capital of Culture.
Virgin Trains Sales and Marketing Director said: “We are delighted to be supporting Liverpool and its community as an Official Partner of the prestigious Capital of Culture. There are going to be some amazing events in 2008 and we look forward to getting involved. And, Capital of Culture year is just the start, we are committed to improving the region for the long-term with more trains and slashed journey times from 2009. |
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| Editor Posted Wednesday, February 06, 2008 |
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First or Worst Great Western? |
Thousands of UK commuters using First Great Western (FGW) trains in south west England used fake tickets on the 28th January. The tickets were printed with slogans such as ‘Worst Late Western’ in protest at what they see as a terrible service with rising fares.
Passengers wore cattle masks making clear how low their regard is for the operator which came last in a passenger satisfaction league published last week by the independent watchdog Passenger Focus. |
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| Editor Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2008 |
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London: Shepherd's Bush (Central line) Station Closure |
| As part of a multi-million pound upgrade of the Underground, this station will close for major improvement works on 2 February 2008 and reopen in October. Improvements include a new ticket hall, new escalators and a more modern station. |
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| Editor Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2008 |
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JR East: Increasing Speed on the Tohoko Shinkansen |
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is now planning to extend the Tohoku Shinkansen lines to Aomori in FY 2010. Shinkansen trains will then be able to travel directly from Tokyo to Aomori in about 3 hours 10 minutes with maximum speed 300km/h. At present it takes almost 4 hours with a change of trains.
In FY 2012 the maximum speed will be increased to the highest speed yet within Japan: 320 km/h (almost 200 miles/h). The traveling time between Tokyo and Aomori will be 3 hours 5 minutes. |
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| Editor Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 |
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St Pancras International |
The original St Pancras station with its massive single-span roof and Victorian Gothic façade opened in 1868 and became an instant London icon.
Now fully restored to house the 400 metre-long Eurostar trains and given a stunning contemporary look, it has been reborn as St Pancras International.
St Pancras International offers a range of shops, bars and restaurants, unlike anything ever seen in a UK station before. There’s a world-class brassiere, Europe’s longest champagne bar, and a daily farmers’ market. A mix of independent and boutique retailers brings you the best of London, Paris and Brussels all in one.
Connections are outstanding with six underground lines and seven rail companies operating from St Pancras International, King’s Cross and nearby Euston Station. |
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| Editor Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 |
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The Queen Opens St Pancras International Station |
The Queen accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh today launched High Speed-1, the UK's first section of high speed railway and officially opened St Pancras International Station. The magnificently restored Victorian train station is in the centre of London.
Her Majesty and His Royal Highness arrived at the Hotel Arch beneath the Gothic façade of the Grand Midland Hotel before being greeted by Sir David Cooksey, chairman, London & Continental Railways, the company behind the project.
The Royal Party sat on specially built platforms beneath the Barlow Trainshed roof and delivered an address to an invited audience of over 1,000 guests including senior political figures from London, the UK and Europe.
A state of the art light, sound and film show was accompanied by music from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. |
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| Editor Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 |
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India's Bullet Train |
India's Bullet Train will cover the Delhi-Agra stretch of about 300 miles in just 90 minutes. The Shatabdi Express train will then continue on to Bhopal at a speed of 120kmp/h.
The necessary clearances have been obtained and only the final nod has to be received for the development. Shatabdi Express trains, introduced in India in 1998 to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, are envisioned to be fast trains between cities with shorter distance like Chennai-Bangalore and Mumbai-Pune etc, with a limited number of stops.
Railways now run 13 Shatabdi Expresses trains. The New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi connecting the capital city with the capital of Madhya Pradesh is the fastest train in he country.
The train was also the first Shatabdi though it initially only ran to Jhansi and was later extended to Bhopal. |
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| Editor Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 |
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New luxury Trans-Siberian Express to stop in Ulaanbaatar |
Travellers can now travel to Ulaanbaatar from Vladivostok en route to Moscow, aboard a five-star version of the Trans-Siberian Express.
British company GW Travel has begun a regular service across Siberia via Mongolia to Moscow on the new $25 million Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express.
Luxury and elegance are the norm as travellers live in spacious carriages, dine in beautiful dining rooms and chat in special lounges.
Top chefs prepare world-class meals and travellers are urged to enjoy the trains wine selection. |
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| Editor Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 |
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Train Travel Shopping
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Yes the Shinkansen 新幹線 in Japan is very nice and fast. I travelled in Europe for 3 months and can not believe that it was not very good and so expensive and no discount tickets!
Come to lovely Japan and then you see some great trains!!!! ^^ |
| Akiko,
Kobe |
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Posted Wednesday, February 06, 2008 |
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FYI in English!!
The Japan Rail Pass is a discount ticket allowing unlimited rail travel throughout Japan over a 7, 14 or 21 consecutive day period. It is available in either an Ordinary (coach class) or Green (first class) version. Because Japan Railways has 12,400 miles of track, it is possible to travel almost anywhere in the country by train. The Japan Rail Pass can provide you with convenience and great savings if used wisely, but it is a discount ticket and some restrictions on trains do apply. There are no restrictions on date or season. Please read the information below. Also note that there is no similar pass available within Japan. If you are traveling with any Japanese friends or family, or any non-Japanese people not entitled to use the pass, they will have to purchase full-price tickets or look for any excursion discounts available in Japan. ^^ |
| Akiko,
Kobe |
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Posted Wednesday, February 06, 2008 |
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| The Haruka Limited Express connects the terminal at Kansai International Airport with both downtown Osaka and Kyoto. Trains operate regularly once every 30 minutes taking 45 minutes to Shin-Osaka Station (for Shinkansen connections) and 75 minutes to Kyoto Station. The Haruka offers both Ordinary and Green (first class) seating with special racks for luggage. The Japan Rail Pass and JR West Sanyo Area Pass are valid for the Haruka; the JR West Kansai Area Pass can be used for non-reserved Ordinary cars. There is a JR Pass exchange point in the terminal station. |
| Akiko,
Kobe |
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Posted Wednesday, February 06, 2008 |
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The trains in Japan are the best I've ever experienced. Clean, on time, easy to understand timetables for westerners and better than flying.
We took the Shinkansen from Kobe to Tokyo which was excellent, and then a normal train to Narita airport (which was also nice even in rush-hour). If only the trains were the same in the States. |
| Paul,
LA |
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Posted Thursday, January 31, 2008 |
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Can anyone help about travelling on the Trans-Siberian? I want to go in a few months time with my wife and 2 1/2 year old but am concerned about medical cover in case my son fell sick during the journey. Not so much the insurance but what kind of medical services are avaialble across Russia etc.
Grateful in advance for any advice. |
| K.L.,
London |
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Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 |
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Went on the Ghan in Oz a few months ago and to be honest it was quite boring. Very expensive if you have a cabin. Would have been better to fly and spend more money on hotels!
Summary: Not a classic rail journey (sorry). |
| Jonny,
London |
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Posted Saturday, January 26, 2008 |
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WHY, why why is Englnd so expendsive?! We travelled all over Europe by train and then only spent a few days in London because it was too much money to go to North England or Scotland.
Please learn from the French or Japanese! Hey! |
| Monica,
Madrid |
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Posted Tuesday, January 08, 2008 |
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