View Full Version : Megatrain Expands


hkskyline
April 4th, 2006, 04:35 AM
Stagecoach Expands Megatrain Budget Rail Service
3 April 2006
Edited Press Release

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Stagecoach Group said Monday that its budget rail service, megatrain.com, is being extended to new locations in the south and west of England.

megatrain.com, which is being piloted at South West Trains, the UK's biggest rail franchise, offers passengers tickets for as little as GBP1, Stagecoach said.

The cheap tickets will now be available on services linking London with Bournemouth, Weymouth, Exeter, Salisbury, Yeovil, Bath and Bristol.

Bookings for the new megatrain services are being accepted now for travel from April 20 for Bournemouth and Weymouth and from April 28 for the other new destinations.

More than 1,700 seats a week will be available on the new routes, Stagecoach said.

Ian Dobbs, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group's rail division, said: "We believe there is significant potential to expand this innovative concept beyond South West Trains to other parts of the U.K. rail network."

The expansion of megatrain.com follows the success of the two initial trial routes from London to Southampton and Portsmouth - launched in October last year - which have now taken more than 26,000 bookings.

Justme
April 4th, 2006, 10:39 AM
Great news. Just checked it, and I could buy tickets from London to Portsmouth for 1pound. There were enough trains to make this a day trip for 2 quid. However, they were quite slow trains, in the tradition of Megabus, probably stopping at quite a few places. I could also get trains to Bristol from London for 1pound as well, but for that city there was only one train a day at that price.

Still, it's a great idea. I just wish Germany offered such a service here, although with the monopoly held by DB, I don't think it could happen.

samsonyuen
April 5th, 2006, 10:26 PM
Great news!

lasdun
April 7th, 2006, 03:43 AM
Could it be that, 10 years late, privatisation works?