Chiltern Railways is delighted to be working with the Birmingham Post on their annual Business Awards.
Sponsoring the category Emerging Professional the company which operates rail services from central Birmingham direct to central London are pleased to support the awards for the first time.
Chiltern Railways operates between London, Warwickshire and the West Midlands and their comfortable trains feature spacious seating, the ability to easily work onboard with tables and power sockets and, of course, great value fares.
They are also one of the most punctual and reliable rail services in the UK used by business professionals travelling into London.
Malcolm Holmes, Chiltern Railways General Manager Mainline said: “From September there are even more reasons to travel with us as journey times will be reduced by 20 per cent with the launch of the Chiltern Mainline.
“We are spending £250 million to upgrade the line which will allow us to run trains at 100mph along the entire route.
"From September the fastest journey time from Moor Street station to London Marylebone will be just 90 minutes with trains running non-stop from Warwick Parkway into our central London terminus. Journey times from Solihull will reduce to just 82 minutes.
“We are delighted to be able to offer a faster, reliable, value for money service to business professionals travelling into the Capital.”
Chiltern Railways offers businesses a low-cost alternative rail link between London and the Midlands, helping companies and individuals save thousands of pounds every year.
You can purchase a Chiltern Railways Anytime return from Birmingham to London for *£85 compared with Virgin’s fare on the West Coast Mainline of £149, that’s a saving of 43 per cent. A business that makes 20 journeys between London and Birmingham per week could save over £60,000 per year by using the Chiltern service.
Chiltern is also at the forefront of ticketing innovation having recently launched an integrated mobile ticketing system that enables business users to buy, instantly receive and validate tickets through an app on their mobile phone.
This innovation marks the first time that any rail passengers have been able to use both smartphones and everyday handsets to buy and receive rail tickets through one transaction.
An additional differentiator is that unlike most commercial booking services, the Chiltern Railways application does not charge a booking fee, and the application is free to download.
Malcolm Holmes continues: “We believe we are the smart choice for Birmingham’s business travellers. We offer the best value fares, the ease of the latest technology and our journey times will be significantly faster from September.
"As we herald the arrival of faster services for Birmingham, this is a great time for us to celebrate our business elite and we wish all entrants the very best of luck and look forward to seeing you onboard soon.”
* All fares correct when going to print.
For more details on the Birmingham Post Business Awards, including how to nominate and for table bookings, visit the website at www.bpbusinessawards.co.uk.