Virgin Trains is to introduce a mobile phone easy pay cashless option for customers using Pay and Display car parks at some of its West Coast stations to complement its station car parking enhancement programme for the Virgin High Frequency Timetable early in 2009.

Following successful trials at Rugby and Stafford the new payment option will from December make life easier for customers parking at Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Runcorn, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle also.

Clear instructions on the easy-to-use system, including the car park's unique four-digit identification code, will be displayed next to each Pay and Display ticket machine and at strategic locations around the car park.

Mobile phone or online registration by customers is straightforward and requires only a simple text message to the service provider detailing the car park identification code, vehicle registration number and number of days' parking required. Each registration incurs a transaction cost of 30p to cover operating costs.

Attendants patrolling the car parks receive all details via Blackberry and customers can extend parking remotely by text message or online, view all transactions online and receive receipts by text or printed statement.

Car parking is key to the Virgin High Frequency Timetable strategy and the company is providing more than 4,000 extra spaces at its 17 stations. Future partnership with National Car Parks is being explored with a view to improving car park management and service to customers.