Train named for town at special ceremony
A 40 metric tonne machine with a top speed of 100mph was named for Royston at a windswept ceremony held in the town yesterday.
MP Oliver Heald unveiled the The Royston Express, a 12-carriage train, in recognition of two new non-stop evening services from Kings Cross to Royston created shortly before Christmas.
The ribbon to the town’s northbound rail platform, extended by Network Rail, was also cut by Town Mayor Councillor Martin Beaver.
Mr Heald, Mp for North East Herts, said: “I have worked closely with First Capital Connect to support their plan to run extra services and longer trains giving Royston travellers many more seats every day to ease overcrowding.
“I also thank Network Rail.
You may also want to watch:
“This is great news and I am delighted to name the train The Royston Express.”
Both county and district councillors attended the event which celebrated the introduction of thousands of extra rush hour seats.
Most Read
- 1 'FOI request refusal leaves residents in darkness'
- 2 When will bins be collected in North Hertfordshire again?
- 3 How effective is gritting roads in lockdown?
- 4 More Royston GP surgeries begin to give COVID-19 vaccinations
- 5 Herts COVID-19 fatalities surge as UK death toll surpasses major milestone
- 6 More than 60 fines issued to Covid rulebreakers in Cambs this year
- 7 Dad's emotional tribute after baby son dies in A10 horror crash
- 8 I will not stop fighting for our chalk streams, says South Cambs MP
- 9 County council ploughs £3.4m into farm deal
- 10 County 'extremely grateful' for chief fire officer's 30-year service
This has been done by extending the amount of carriages which has resulted in 2,350 extra places.
Cllr Beaver said: “This is very welcome news for all the commuters of Royston and the surrounding area.
“Overcrowding has been a major problem for a number of years, I am overjoyed to see that it is being addressed and hope that it will now encourage more people to use our rail system in the future.”
The longer trains are part of a wider set of improvements introduced through a scheme jointly developed by First Capital Connect and the Department for Transport with Network Rail.
A spokesman for First Capital Connect said: “Hopefully it will provide a more comfortable travelling experience.
“We know that overcrowding is the biggest bugbear for people who have been travelling for miles and we are doing what we can to alleviate it for people.”
