Virgin Trains wins highest ever market share against airlines

Virgin Trains has hailed an “historic shift” in travel patterns as more Scotland-London passengers choose train over plane than at any time in more than 20 years.

New figures reveal an 18% year-on-year growth in Virgin Trains passengers travelling between Glasgow/Edinburgh and London in June. This left Virgin with a 33% share of the air/rail market on the UK’s busiest domestic air routes, beating a previous record set in 2014.

The shift coincides with a new report which explores the environmental benefits of train over plane travel.

The research, undertaken by sustainable transport charity Transform Scotland, found that:

Overall air and rail travel between Scotland’s Central Belt and London is increasing – but carbon emissions are falling as more people choose train
Virgin Trains’ growth on the west coast route between Glasgow and London over the last decade has saved enough CO2 (332,208tCO2) to take 145,000 cars off the road for a year
Further passenger growth on the east coast route between Edinburgh and London can be accommodated whilst still cutting carbon, thanks to ambitions plans by Virgin Trains to win a 50% market share against airlines
The full report, A Green Journey to Growth, can be found here: http://transformscotland.org.uk/.

Virgin Trains has enjoyed strong growth on its two routes connecting Scotland to London thanks to a string of customer service improvements introduced over the last two years.