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Soaring railway numbers are not to be sniffed at
By Howard Williamson THE sweet smell of success will permeate trains in the north of England this year as passenger numbers soar.
With customers at a 45-year record high, the Trans-Pennine Express company is introducing scented headrests to its services.
Passenger figures on the route between Manchester and York jumped last year by 75 per cent to 137,171.
Soon these customers will be able to sit back and enjoy the aroma of citrus fruits.
Trans-Pennine's managing director Vernon Baker says: "It's a very subtle fragrance which smells fresh and clean. It is relatively long-lasting and we are confident it will help to create a favourable impression."
The new headrest covers are being made by Orvec International of Hull and are exclusive to the Trans-Pennine Express.
The improvement comes as train companies across the UK celebrated bumper results in 2004.
Some 1.5 billion journeys were made on the network – the highest for 45 years.
This was up four per cent on 2003, said the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), and 38 per cent higher than 10 years ago.
"This means that more than one million extra journeys are now being made every week compared to 2003," said director general George Muir.
"With nearly 1,400 new trains introduced in the last year alone, and an additional 320 new timetabled services, rail travel is attracting more passengers than in the late 1950s when we had a much bigger rail network. It also means we have the fastest-growing railway system in Europe."
Atoc says there have been significant increases in all three categories of rail travel – regional (up 7.8 per cent), long distance (plus 4.1 per cent) and London and the South East (2.6 per cent higher).
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said: "The changes we are putting in place together with increasing investment are essential if we are to see even more improvement."
howard.williamson@ypn.co.uk
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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