LONDON, November 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Customers looking to do some Christmas or January sales shopping in the UK's biggest cities can enjoy a little bit of first class luxury when using Virgin Trains.

From 23 November there will be 50,000 First Class train seats up for grabs at great prices.  First Class travel on Virgin Trains offers wider seats with extra leg room, complimentary Wi-Fi subject to availability, weekday newspapers and food and drink served throughout the day

Tickets are for travel on single journeys to and from London from 10 December 2011 to 22 January 2012 inclusive and include seat reservations. Two single journeys can be purchased to create a round trip.  

Customers will get the chance to travel in style and arrive refreshed at their Christmas destination for as little as: £17 one way to or from the West Midlands; £24 one way to or from Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, £28 one way to or from the North West, £30.00 one way to or from North Wales and Cumbria, and £40 to or from Scotland.  The offer ends on 29 November or when the 50,000 tickets are sold out.

Jim Rowe, Senior Communications Manager at Virgin Trains says:  "We are absolutely delighted to be able to offer 50,000 First Class seats at rock bottom prices to our customers around the Christmas period - what a great way to journey home! But do book now because once they are gone, they're gone!"

Tickets can be booked through virgintrains.com, by calling 0871-977-4222 or through any Virgin Trains booking office.  

Notes to editors

• Visit our Media Room website - http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room/ - for an Image Library of pictures of Virgin Trains and the company's operations, or to subscribe to receive alerts to new press releases.
• Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997.
• The current franchise was due to run until 31 March 2012, but the Department for Transport announced on 27 October 2011 that it would be extended until 8 December 2012. We have been short-listed for the new franchise that will start on 9 December 2012 and run until 31 March 2026, with an option to be extended by up to 20 months.
• Virgin Trains has been recognised in numerous industry awards. In 2011 the company was named Best Rail Operator in the Group Leisure Awards (which we also won in 2009 and 2010). In 2011 Virgin Trains won the British Quality Foundation's Achievement Award for Customer Satisfaction. In 2010 we were named Best Rail Operator of the Year at the Travel Globe Awards (voted for by readers of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Evening Standard. In 2009 we were voted Best UK Domestic Train Service by Business Traveller magazine for the second year running.
• Virgin Trains first achieved Investors In People accreditation in 2007 and this was renewed in 2010; the IIP Gold award was achieved in 2011. In May 2011 Virgin Trains was awarded accreditation against the criteria of the European Foundation for Quality Management's (EFQM) Excellence Model. The company's Learning and Development team won a National Training Awards 2011 West Midlands award for its Coaching Culture programme.

SOURCE Virgin Trains