Bargain fares to encourage more people to take the train to and from Cumbria were announced on 13 September 2006 by Virgin Trains when a new waiting room was inaugurated at Carlisle as part of better facilities for historic stations.

The wider range of attractive ticket prices was revealed by Charles Belcher, Managing Director of Virgin West Coast, who said this followed the introduction in June of bargains to boost opportunities for day trips and other journeys.

New Cheap Day Return fares include Lancaster/Carlisle for £14, Preston/Penrith for £13 and Glasgow/Oxenholme for £20. This follows the earlier introduction of bargains including Cheap Day Returns between Carlisle and Edinburgh or Glasgow for £16 and between Carlisle and Preston for £15, and advance-purchase fares for a wider range of journeys in both First and Standard Class.

The news was welcomed by Councillor Bill Cameron, Chairman of the West Coast Rail 250 campaign group, when he declared the station waiting room open at Carlisle. "We campaigned successfully for the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line and we are looking forward to further improvement. More attractive fares will also help promote Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall country, and the Lake District. Better facilities such as the Carlisle waiting room and new information systems at stations will also be of benefit," Councillor Cameron said.

Mr Belcher said: "The big focus of recent years has been on delivering new trains, new tracks and new timetables. Now we have new fares to encourage even more people to take advantage of these developments to enjoy a change
of scene by going to and from Carlisle, Penrith and Oxenholme by rail."

He confirmed that preparations are well in hand for further reductions in journey time - with a proposed best Carlisle/London schedule of 3 hours 9 minutes in 2009 - and that the three Cumbrian stations managed by Virgin
Trains are benefiting from investment in improved facilities. This includes new customer information screens as part of a £6.6 million project by Network Rail and the Department for Transport covering 24 stations in the
North West, including Carlisle, Penrith North Lakes and Oxenholme The Lake District. Subject to listed building approval, the Carlisle screens will be commissioned in November.

The new waiting room near platform 6 at Carlisle provides an opportunity for customers to sit in comfort. It includes historic features that have been carefully restored, notably a magnificent stone fireplace. This aspect of the original 1847-vintage Carlisle Citadel station building has been hidden from public view for years.

New customer information screens giving details of train services and their platform numbers will be installed at Carlisle by Network Rail, who inaugurated similar screens using the latest display technology at Oxenholme in July. Installation has just been completed at Penrith station, where the mixture of easy-to-read orange LED displays and flat screens have replaced hand-written notices. (At Carlisle, as at Oxenholme before it, the old system to be replaced uses television-type screens.)

All three of these stations have secure station status, and accreditation for their car parks.