Published on: Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Last updated: Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Southend Victoria rail station was buzzing with activity on Sunday as crowds turned up to enjoy an Open Day and free ice creams.
The event was put on by Southend Council’s Welcome Hosts, Greater Anglia and the Wickford-Southend Community Rail Partnership to showcase the town’s delights and encourage more day trippers this summer.
As well as a free ice cream for everyone passing through the station between 10.30am and 2.30pm, people could find out about the town’s attractions and special offers, try out Greater Anglia’s new trains using virtual reality headsets, or whizz up a fruit smoothie using pedal power on a Smoothie Bike.
Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager, Michael O’Callaghan, said, “We had an amazing turnout and everyone really enjoyed the activities on offer, especially the free ice cream which went down well on such a beautiful day. It really did help to showcase this fantastic seaside destination, perfect for families looking for fun in the summer holidays.
“Everything is so easy to access from the station and with our great value fares and accompanying special offers you can get there faster for less.”
Greater Anglia managers were also on hand to listen to feedback, advise on train travel and tickets, and let people know about the brand new trains which will be arriving on the network from 2019.
There is no engineering work between London and Southend on weekends during the summer – including the August Bank Holiday weekend – with the exception of Sunday 29 July, when a replacement bus service will run between Southend Victoria and Hockley just until 10am.
From 2019-2020 Greater Anglia is replacing every single train with 169 brand new trains, being built by Stadler and Bombardier, in Derby.
All of the new trains will be fitted with air conditioning, plug and USB sockets, fast free wifi and more seats.
They will also have accessible toilets, cycle spaces and large picture windows.