Building on Hull's success as 2017 UK City of Culture, a newly-launched TransPennine Express 'North of England Rover Ticket' is offering visitors a chance to explore four famous northern cities on a cultural voyage of discovery.

Starting in the 'gateway' city of Hull, the brand new 'ticket-to-ride' gives four days of unlimited rail travel between Hull, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool on a ticket that is valid for eight days.

To help visitors make the most of the value for money North of England Rover, suggested itineraries also offer some top tips for city culture, from Liverpool's Beatles Story and Tate Liverpool to Manchester's Lowry and Bridgewater Hall and Leeds' Henry Moore Institute and Royal Armouries.

Suggestions also cover events in the four cities right through the year, from music festivals to literary celebrations and award-winning markets to new stage productions, offering visitors a chance to compile their perfect northern cities tour.

It's no coincidence that the North of England Rover Ticket has been unveiled in 2017 - the year when Hull is able to offer its visitors 365 vibrant days of culture during its reign as the UK City of Culture.

But with so many galleries, exhibitions, events and festivals to enjoy across some of the UK's liveliest cities, visitors are being given four days of unlimited travel over eight days – allowing visitors plenty of time in each of the partner cities before heading back to Hull.

The Rover Tickets are now available to buy online, from just £79 per person (https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/special-offers/north-of-england-rover/).

Likely to be of equal interest to both domestic and international holidaymakers, the Rover Ticket opens-up the obvious possibility of attracting more visitors from Northern Europe, who can travel easily and quickly to Hull with P&O Ferries.

Going by the title of the “Cities of Northern England” for this new promotion, Hull, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool are all served by the TransPennine Express, with a journey time of around one hour from one to the next.  Coincidentally, TransPennine Express trains are currently being completely refurbished to an Intercity level of customer experience including free Wi-Fi, at seat power and improved catering.

Arguably the most innovative way yet of bringing all four cities under one collective banner, the Rover Ticket opens up all kinds of opportunities for visitors interested in exploring all four famous cities along this northern corridor.

Further details about the Cities of Northern England can now be found at http://www.citiesofnorthengland.com, along with the suggested cultural itineraries and programmes.

Full details of the River Ticket, meanwhile, can be found at https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/special-offers/north-of-england-rover/.

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For further media information, please contact:

Anthony Yates

Visit Hull & East Yorkshire, and Cities of Northern England

Email: anthony.yates@vhey.co.uk     Tel: Tel. 01482 391530

Sarah Cunningham

TPE Media Relations Manager,

Email: sarah.cunningham@firstgroup.com    Tel: 0161 228 8475

Emma Mead

VisitBritain

Email: emma.mead@visitbritain.org

Editor's Notes:

In 2014, Visit Britain undertook research into the role of culture and heritage in the UK's key markets and found that consumers were looking for a genuinely distinct experience that they can't have at home.  They want to feel moved, inspired, astonished, amazed, awed and intrigued.  They want experiences to enrich them, stretch their minds and enable authentic immersive experiences, which allow them to be more than spectators.

The Rover Ticket uses Hull, 2017 UK City of Culture's year-long programme as the hook to create a themed, internationally relevant itinerary across Northern England, using core cultural product to establish a joined-up story.

With Hull as its gateway, it is capitalising on the opportunity presented by the UK City of Culture year.  But the project as a whole will integrate similar cultural-specific products across the northern powerhouse corridor from Hull to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.

The project features a new, bookable itinerary for the German and Dutch markets and, in consumer terms, it aims to motivate and assist the international visitor to experience the gateway city and the wider region's cultural offer.

About TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express is an intercity rail provider with a vision to Take the North Further. We will deliver an investment of over £500m in the next three years that will transform travel and customer experience across the North and into Scotland. Between 2018 and 2020 we will have introduced 220 brand new state of the art carriages, will provide new routes and services and will increase capacity by over 80 per cent on a seven day a week timetable.

We are proud to be a FirstGroup plc company which provides solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.

Our network is;

• North TransPennine - including Newcastle to Manchester Airport, Middlesbrough to Manchester Airport, Scarborough to Liverpool and Hull to Manchester Piccadilly
• South TransPennine from Cleethorpes via Doncaster and Sheffield to Manchester Airport
• North West and Scotland – from Manchester Airport to Wigan, Preston, Oxenholme, Carlisle, Penrith, Edinburgh and Glasgow,
• Destinations served by TransPennine Express include Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Northallerton, Thirsk, York, Malton, Scarborough, Hull, Selby, Leeds, Huddersfield, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Meadowhall, Doncaster, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Carlisle, Lancaster, Preston, Manchester, Manchester Airport and Liverpool

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