John Whaite, of Strictly Come Dancing and Great British Bake Off fame, was on board for the first full run of the newly re-launched Grand Central 10.23am 221 Voyager train from Bradford to London this week. John, who is starring as Dandini in the panto production of Cinderella at Bradford Alhambra theatre this Christmas, said:
“It was great to hop on board one of Grand Central’s 221 trains direct from Bradford to London Kings Cross. The journey was thoroughly enjoyable thanks to the attentive staff, who in true Grand Central style, are always ready to provide fantastic customer service! Once you’re on board, the QR code at every seat allows you to order food, check your arrival time and find out about the local area. With services from local stations between Doncaster and Bradford there’s no excuse not to book your seat to come and see me in panto at the Bradford Alhambra this Christmas.”
Open access train company, Grand Central, revealed its recently refurbished 221 trains operating as part of its popular West Riding route, originating from Bradford Interchange and return to London, four times per day, seven days a week. Open access means that Grand Central does not take any government support and is focused entirely on serving the needs of its customers.
The refurbished trains are Class 221 SuperVoyagers, whose addition will strengthen Grand Central’s capacity to provide the level of service customers both expect and deserve. Along with 256 seats on each unit and onboard facilities that will match the existing offering on its 180 Adelante fleet, all trains have free on-board Wi-Fi, generous leg room and catering.
The smart new look for the trains features the distinctive orange livery and a new slogan ‘What’s ‘Appening’ to promote the ease of booking with Grand Central’s dedicated app.
As an open-access operator, Grand Central aims to service the smaller stations that other operators might pass through, and takes an active role in the local community, helping out local organisations.
