The Anonymous Widower

LNER Names Train ‘The Flying Swiftie’ Ahead Of Tonight’s Opening Gig

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from LNER.

This is the sub-heading,

Forget “The Flying Scotsman”, LNER is today naming the 1000 London-Edinburgh train “The Flying Swiftie” – as thousands of Taylor Swift fans take the train to her first UK gig in the Scottish capital.

These are the first three paragraphs, which give a few more details.

The rail firm famous for having Red seats knows All Too Well that its passengers love a named train – from The Flying Scotsman to the Highland Chieftan and the recently introduced Carolean Express.

As passengers travel in Style and say So Long, London they will be reminded with on-train and station announcements that Everything Has Changed and that they’re on The Flying Swiftie, while screens around the station and along the route will refer to the train’s name too.

Taylor Swift fans will be able to get refreshments onboard cheaper than their Wildest Dreams thanks to a special Flying Swiftie discount.

Recently, Lumo did a similar promotion for Gateshead fans going to Wembley for the FA Trophy final, which I wrote about in Excitement Brewing for Gateshead FC Away At Wembley.

Last Train Home

In the past, I’ve had difficulty with getting a return train after some matches and it is a complaint of the fans of many sides.

• Taylor Swift’s concert seems to finish shortly before midnight.
• I’ve never had trouble from Greater Anglia, as they always run a late train back to London.
• In one case at Ipswich, there were track problems in the Colchester area, so Greater Anglia returned fans to Sudbury by taxi.
• Lumo ran an extra return train to make sure everybody got home after the match.

It certainly looks to me, that if you are going to put on a package for an event, you must make sure, that it is possible for those attending the event to get home.

What Is Possible

Lumo and LNER have shown what is possible on the East Coast Main Line and I would hope that they will develop these two experiences to cover, events like these.

• London football teams playing matches in Newcastle.
• Newcastle United playing matches in London.
• England and Scotland rugby matches.

I hopr to see more services like these in the future.

June 11, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Sport, Transport/Travel | East Coast Main Line, Edinburgh Station, Football, Gateshead FC, King's Cross Station, LNER, Lumo, Taylor Swift