Avanti West Coast’s ‘Flying Scouseman’ reaches major milestone

• Pendolino ‘Flying Scouseman’ passes two million miles in service

• Set received its name in 2017 following a competition

• Train recently refurbished as part of the UK’s largest ever train fleet upgrade

An Avanti West Coast trained named Flying Scouseman has reached a major milestone by passing two million miles in service on the West Coast Main Line.

The train, which was named by the readers of the Liverpool Echo in the summer of 2017, achieved the landmark shortly after departure from Liverpool Lime Street on its way to London Euston earlier this month. Part of the ‘hardest working fleet in the UK’, Flying Scouseman needed another 20 miles when it left Liverpool to hit the two million mark.

It was achieved on the approach to Crewe, as the train sped its way down to London, enjoying half an hour in the capital before heading to Glasgow on the 09:30 service. After a short break, the train was back to London, before returning home to Liverpool to complete its 16 hour day, and a further 1190 miles under its belt.

The first two million miles has seen ‘Flying Scouseman’ undertake 8,887 services, travelling the length and breadth of the West Coast Main Line with 4,216 visits to London.

Other popular destinations include:

Destination Visits

• Liverpool 671
• Manchester 1625
• Edinburgh 200
• Glasgow 786
• Blackpool 65
• Birmingham 1996

Stacy Thundercliffe, Head of Fleet and Engineering at Avanti West Coast,said: “Flying Scouseman has proudly been flying the flag for Liverpool, and travelled the equivalent of more than eight times to the moon and back.

“The Pendolino is an iconic train, and Flying Scouseman is now better than before, offering customers a much-improved travel experience following its refurbishment.”

The 56 strong Pendolino fleet has recently undergone a major £117m upgrade, helping to transform the onboard customer experience with benefits including:

• 25,000 new, ergonomic Standard Class seats;
• Conversion of one First Class carriage on each of the 35 eleven-carriage Pendolinos to provide more than 2,000 extra Standard Class seats;
• The introduction of a new onboard shop;
• Improved lighting;
• Refurbished First Class and Standard Premium seats;
• Greater use of technology with customer-friendly passenger information screens;
• Additional luggage space in Standard Class;
• Power points at every seat;
• Refurbished toilets; and
• New carpets throughout using sustainable British wool.

Pic: A panoramic view of 'Flying Scouseman' at Stockport station waiting to depart for London Euston after one of its many visits to Manchester.