It’s not long until Greater Anglia’s brand-new trains start to come into service – but for people who can’t wait until next year there’s an opportunity to step on board “virtually” at Cambridge railway station this Wednesday.

The train company’s award-winning Virtual Reality roadshows have started up again – and this time visitors could get a special giveaway of a Google Cardboard headset which transforms a smartphone into a virtual reality headset.

There will be 200 Google cardboard headsets available free of charge at each roadshow.

The number of people travelling on Greater Anglia trains during the second quarter of 2018 increased by 4.2% over the same period last year, according to official figures from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR).

The increase is higher than the national average.

Cambridge is the busiest station in the East of England, with more than 11.5m people entering and exiting the station over the past year, ORR figures show.

Santa’s reindeer will welcome rail passengers using Norwich station on Friday as Greater Anglia hosts a Christmas Market on the concourse.

The market will run from 1-7pm on Friday 14th December, bringing festive cheer to people as they pass through the station – with a choir singing and a variety of stalls selling local fayre, arts and crafts.

The reindeer, kindly sponsored by the East of England Co-Op - who recently opened a new store at the station, will be at the station from 3-5pm.

Customers at two Cambridge rail stations will be welcomed by carol singers this festive period.

On December 11 at 10am, Greater Anglia staff will be singings carols at Cambridge North station.

Sasha Migdal, who works as a welcome host at Cambridge North, has invited an audience of elderly people to help tackle loneliness.

“I wanted to ask the elderly congregation from the local church as it can be a hard and lonely time for them over the Christmas period. Some of them don't have family or friends around and I wanted to do something nice for them,” she said.

It’s not long until Greater Anglia’s brand-new trains start to come into service – but for people who can’t wait until next year there’s an opportunity to step on board “virtually” at Colchester railway station this Friday.

The train company’s award-winning Virtual Reality roadshows are starting up again – and this time visitors could get a special giveaway of a Google Cardboard headset which transforms a smartphone into a virtual reality headset.

There will be 200 Google cardboard headsets available free of charge at each roadshow.

New roaming cleaners are hopping on and off Greater Anglia services throughout the day to keep the trains looking fresh and presentable.

Four cleaners travel on up to 14 services each during the morning and evening peaks.