Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the advertising used to promote the rebranding of Virgin Trains to the London North Eastern Railway.

The cost of advertising connected with brand awareness and the launch of London North Eastern Railway (LNER) was approximately £936,000, which includes print, radio and digital marketing. This activity was critical to ensure that customers were aware that the change from Virgin Trains East Coast to LNER would not involve any disruption to services and that the change did not lead to any loss of revenue. This level of marketing spend is comparable with that of other normal intercity train operators.