05/07/2010

• Citylink Gold to link Glasgow with Aberdeen and Inverness from just £4*
• Green hi-tech coaches to offer fast journey times to match the train
• Passengers can relax with free wi-fi and at-seat refreshments

Scottish Citylink today (Monday 5 July) launched a new luxury express coach service, offering passengers the chance to enjoy a first class rail-style journey at economy prices.

Fast, state-of-the-art air-conditioned coaches will match journey times by train, offering bargain fares from just £4*, as well as free wi-fi and at-seat refreshments.

The brand new Citylink Gold services will link Glasgow-Aberdeen and Glasgow-Aviemore-Inverness with six services a day on each route.

The 15-metre luxury coaches, which can carry 54 passengers, are equipped with leather seats, mahogany table trays, a servery and toilet. They also feature some of the greenest engines in Europe with low carbon emissions.

Coach attendants will provide passengers with first-class at-seat rail-style service, providing free hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, snacks and fresh fruit.

Journey times between Glasgow and Aberdeen are less than two hours and 40minutes, while services between Inverness and Glasgow will take as little as three hours and 23minutes.

Citylink Gold is the latest offering from Scottish Citylink - a joint venture between Stagecoach and international transport group ComfortDelGro.

Launching the new services, Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Brian Souter said: "We are offering a fast, first-class express coach service at economy prices. With this great package we are taking coach travel to a new level of luxury."

Jaspal Singh, CEO of ComfortDelGro UK and Ireland, added: "Citylink Gold will provide passengers with more than just a journey - it's a great value, comfortable and modern service which I hope will encourage more people to choose coach travel as their preferred mode of transport."

The new Citylink Gold brand also has its own tartan, which was designed and manufactured by The House of Edgar, based in Perth.

Bookings can now be made for the new services, which begin on 12 July, at www.citylinkgold.co.uk

Scottish Citylink now carries more than three million passengers each year, offering prices from as little as £1 per journey*.

For further information on Citylink Gold visit www.citylinkgold.co.uk

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact Kathleen MacMillan at Kathleen.macmillan@bigpartnership.co.uk or on 0141 333 9585/0783 533 7956 or Stagecoach Group Communications on 01738 442111 or email media@stagecoachgroup.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services. Stagecoach is one of UK's biggest bus and coach operators, running around 7,000 vehicles from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and carrying around 2 million passengers every day.

Scottish Citylink
Coach operator Scottish Citylink provides inter-city services to more than 200 destinations across the country and carries more than 3million passengers each year.

* All reservations are subject to a 50p booking fee.