SECTOR FOCUS: BUSINESS TRAVEL
Staff hit the streets for own sleep out in aid of St Basil’s
By Sally Gillespie Senior Communications Manager
In May, a team of Chiltern Railways volunteers, including the Executive team, swapped their mattresses for cardboard boxes to experience what it is like to be homeless for the night. The sleep out at
Birmingham Moor Street station was in aid of St Basil’s charity, which Chiltern Railways staff have voted as one of their charities of the year. St Basil’s is a West Midlands based charity that works with 16–25-year-olds who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Steve Rainbow, fundraising
officer for St Basil’s, said: “The Big Sleep Out is a challenge which St Basil’s organise every year and I am delighted that Chiltern Railways staff are staging their own sleep-out to help us. Sleep-outs do not intend to replicate the realities of being homeless, but the act of giving up your bed for the night leads to a greater appreciation of what young people could face if there weren’t services to support them. Having such a high profile company willing to do this by staging a sleep-out will really help to raise awareness of youth homelessness and the work we do to break the cycle and shows Chiltern’s commitment to supporting the work of St Basils.” Rob Brighouse, managing
director of Chiltern Railways said: “We’re delighted to support a charity which is based at the heart of our route. The sleep out is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the charity’s vital work. The money we raise will support the charity’s prevention, accommodation and support services, which help young homeless people regain the stability they need to rebuild their lives.”
46 CHAMBERLINK JULY/AUGUST 2015
£4m bus fleet connects city with Solihull
routes between the city and Solihull. The 18 buses, which will give passengers extra leg
B
room, free wi-fi, leather seats, ‘next stop’ announcements and faster journeys, will operate on the 900 and 957 services passing through Birmingham Airport.
‘Our new Platinum buses will transform bus travel in the West Midlands’
The faster journey times will come from various ‘bus friendly road improvements’, that National Express hopes will ensure that buses on these key routes will compete with cars for in terms of journey times. These improvements have been agreed between the
bus company and Birmingham and Solihull Councils, and will speed up journeys by six minutes. Drivers of these executive buses will also wear suits,
and each route will have a dedicated manager, who will be responsible for making sure that buses run on time and responding directly to customers’ concerns. The new vehicles are powered by ultra-low emission
Euro 6 engines, which will reduce harmful emissions such as nitrogen dioxide by 75 per cent and greatly reduce the vehicles’ carbon footprint. The buses are part of a £34m investment in 171 new
vehicles by National Express West Midlands during 2015. The investment is part of a ‘Transforming Bus Travel’ pledge between public transport co-ordinator Centro and National Express West Midlands, and will see the introduction of 300 new buses over a two-year period.
On the buses (L-R): Paul Thomas, Kath Hartley (Centro) and Bob Sleigh
Paul Thomas, operations director of National Express
West Midlands, said: “Our new Platinum buses will transform bus travel in the West Midlands giving customers more leg room, free wi-fi and crucially, thanks to our partnership with local councils, faster journeys. The buses, which are all built in Britain, will also have more comfortable seats, better lighting and crystal clear CCTV.” Councillor Bob Sleigh, leader of Solihull Council and
vice-chairman of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (ITA), said: “This new fleet of platinum buses is exactly the type of high quality service the ITA is keen to see more of.”
Airport lands another carrier
Birmingham Airport has welcomed the arrival of another new airline, with Spain’s leading low cost carrier, Vueling, making its inaugural flight from Barcelona. The airline is now running three
weekly services between Birmingham and Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, where it has around 40 per cent of the market share. During the peak summer months, the airline will offer up to five flights a week. Vueling is owned by the IAG
group and offers code shares with the likes of British Airways and Iberia, giving a vast number of connections across the group’s network. This also allows customers to redeem BA air miles and Avios points. William Pearson, Birmingham Airport’s aviation development
irmingham bus company National Express West Midlands has unveiled a £4m fleet of luxury buses, which will operate on
SPONSORED BY: CHILTERN RAILWAYS
Flying in: Captain Gerard Pinazo and First Officer Gonzalo Comendador with Birmingham Airport’s head of aviation development, Tom Screen, and the Vueling cabin crew on the inaugural Barcelona flight from Birmingham
director, said: “It was fantastic to see our newest airline, Vueling, land into Birmingham. The carrier will add more than 27,000 seats to Barcelona from Birmingham and give passengers a choice of more than 140 destinations on the
Vueling network across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “We are extremely pleased that
Vueling, which is a very successful brand in Europe, has chosen Birmingham for its newest route launch.”
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