One of Great Western Railway's (GWR) Intercity Express Trains has been named after best-selling author Agatha Christie.
Although Christie's iconic murder mystery play The Mousetrap has kept people guessing for 70 years, Great Western Railway has revealed that Intercity Express Train No. 802110 has been named in her honour. Christie's name was unveiled on Tuesday, 12 September by her grandson, Mathew Prichard, at Paignton station in Devon, before the train departed on the 14.10 service to London Paddington. Paignton is just a few miles from Agatha Christie's home at Greenway on the River Dart.
Joining Mathew Prichard at the ceremony were special guests and the cast of The Mousetrap, which is on a national 70th Anniversary tour and being staged at Torquay's Princess Theatre until Saturday 16 September.
Also at the ceremony was Great Western Railway Train Manager Rob Smith and his 103-year-old grandmother, Joan Nott, who is a world-renowned expert on all things Agatha Christie. Joan used to be a tourist guide with the West Country Tourist Board and researched and specialised in the Agatha Christie Story for tours that attracted journalists from all over the world. In 1976, she was awarded a prestigious Blue Badge and as part of her research for the tours worked with Dame Agatha's daughter, Rosalind Hick, and later with Mathew.
The naming ceremony also coincided with Torbay's annual Agatha Christie Festival which uses the extraordinary power and reach of Agatha Christie's global reputation to help the local economy, increase the region's tourism, and promote the area's literary and geological heritage.
Great Western Railway is running a Great Westerners campaign for past and present heroes from across the network to be recognised by having a train named after them, and Christie was one of the people nominated by the public and GWR colleagues.
Chair of the Agatha Christie Festival, Heather Norman-Soderlind, said: “Agatha Christie is indelibly linked to her birthplace and home on the English Riviera; her stories with great train journeys and travel. How fitting that GWR's Intercity Express Train, the Dame Agatha Christie will be transporting festival goers and visitors to the Bay in future.”
MP for Torbay, Kevin Foster, who spoke at the event said: “Agatha Christie's legacy can be seen all over Torbay, with her stories still captivating audiences and readers worldwide. Given the role our railways played in her books and the special place Paignton was for her, it is apt Paignton Station should be the location for this naming ceremony. Everywhere this train goes it will promote both her legacy and the English Riviera as a whole.”
GWR Train Service and Performance Director, Daryn McCombe said: “We've been thrilled to celebrate Dame Agatha Christie today with so many people connected both to her work and to her personally.
“Her name has become synonymous with both Devon and the railway. Born in Torquay and famously featuring rail travel in some of her most popular works, her legacy continues to draw people to some of the most beautiful parts of our network.
“Whether it's to visit the annual Agatha Christie Festival to walk in her footsteps or visit some of the breath-taking Devon beaches and landscapes that inspired her writing, we are proud that our services are able to connect fans of all ages to the area.”
