MARKETING A ROUTE TO SUCCESS

Central Trains is a major train operator that provides 750,000 journeys a week on 1,200 trains a day between 240 stations across its network for three million passengers a year. This article looks at how Central Trains has evolved, since privatization, from a provider of urban and inter-urban rail services in and around conurbations of the west and east Midlands to a 'sub-inter-city' network of express routes linking the principal towns and cities of northwest and central England, South Wales and East Anglia. Also examined is the system's marketing strategy.