National Express commits to supporting the South West

National Express is today (Tuesday 11 February) pledging to meet any extra demand for its services in the South West as the rail disruption looks likely to remain for weeks to come.

In a bid to support the region, the UK’s largest coach operator is adding thousands of extra seats to its services, while yesterday it began running five new express services between Plymouth, Heathrow Airport and London to meet extra demand.
The new express services will reach London in as little as four hours – quicker than the rail replacement alternatives.

Since the rail disruption was announced last week, National Express has seen a significant increase in coach bookings in the South West. Year-on-year advance sales tripled on its Plymouth to Bristol services and doubled on its Plymouth to London route.
The national coach operator is pledging to keep adding capacity and its standard fares in place for as long as necessary – ensuring everyone who wants to travel can still do so.

Since the disruption began last Wednesday (5 February):

• Plymouth to London: year-on-year advance bookings have increased by 100%;
• Plymouth to Bristol: advance bookings have increased by 200%;
• The five new services will equate to nearly 20,000 extra seats on Plymouth to London services  between now and 23 March, 2014

National Express UK Coach Managing Director Tom Stables said: "As people in the South West face the prospect of many weeks without normal train services, it’s no surprise to see demand for our coaches grow.

"To meet the needs of the region we’ve added new services and increased our capacity too so that the South West remains connected to the rest of the country.

"We’re pledging to add as many seats as are needed for as long as is needed so everyone can travel, and we also promise to keep to our standard fares."

The national coach operator runs a Birmingham-based 24 hour support centre which is continually monitoring roads across Britain.

Visit the website www.nationalexpress.com to book tickets or for the most up to date service information.