Some of you may already be aware that our team are often in London, meeting existing clients and picking up new work in the City. We make regular use of our space at Scotland House in the city centre and plan to spend even more time in the capital. When travelling to London for work, our team often rely on the train service from Edinburgh, as it allows them to work in comfort on the way and conveniently disembark in the heart of the city.
This morning, Matthew and Amy from our Edinburgh office were invited to ride on train operator LNER’s exclusive and very first Azuma passenger train serving Scottish railways. The new Azumas are built in the UK, using Japanese bullet train technology. This is a hugely exciting development for Edinburgh and the rest of the Scottish mainland, improving transport links right up and down the country. The Japanese design uses lightweight materials to make them more environmentally friendly too. All of this should improve travel time between Edinburgh and other major cities in the UK too, which will be a huge boost for our future plans in expanding our services nationwide.
Leaving Edinburgh Waverley at 10:01 this morning, Matthew and Amy, along with a select group of other destination marketing business people and Scottish MPs and MSPs travelled to Berwick-Upon-Tweed just across the border in England and back again, marking the first time the new trains were used in Scotland. The pair enjoyed some delicious breakfast canapés on the platform at Waverley before boarding the train and were also treated to a performance by popular bagpipe band, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
On-board, Matthew and Amy got to experience the first class carriages and travelled to Berwick in luxury. The Chilli Pipers also joined the passengers and performed the first ever 125mph bagpipe concert!
Arriving back at Edinburgh Waverley at 12:45, Matthew and Amy were lucky to receive a special LNER goodie bag, and it’s safe to say their first impressions of the new trains were extremely positive. We’re certainly excited to use them again on our next business trip to London. We’d like to pass on a huge thanks to Kelsey Tainsh and the team at LNER for inviting us to be part of the first ever Azuma trip in Scotland.