Music lovers will be able to travel to Glastonbury on the Eavis Express this summer after the festival’s founder had a train named in his honour.
A high-speed train formerly known as Power Car No 43026 will from now on be the “Michael Eavis”.
The festival logo will also feature on the First Great Western train, which will run between Paddington station in west London and South Wales and the south west of England.
Come June, up to 2,000 people a day could find themselves on board “Michael Eavis” travelling to Castle Cary, the closest station to Glastonbury.
Eavis said he was thrilled at the honour: “There have been ups and downs over the last 45 years of the festival but this is one of the best moments.”
He said he fell in love with trains when he and his family used to travel to the Somerset coast by rail. “I’ve loved them ever since,” he added. “Just think of this train heading down to Somerset and Devon, think of it at night rolling through those valleys and it reaching the coast at Dawlish. It’s magical, isn’t it?”
Surprisingly, Eavis cannot think of many other things bearing his name (though there must surely be an Eavis cider?). However he has been honoured with a plaque on the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior III, placed there as a thank you for the festival’s sponsorship of the environmental campaign group.
“This is mega, too,” he said. “And it’s not just a little goods train or something, it’s a proper engine. Public transport is important to Glastonbury. We encourage people to arrive by train or bus rather than car.”
First Great Western’s managing director, Mark Hopwood, said: “With the train operating up to four train routes daily, this will provide as many as 2,000 people every day the opportunity to travel on board the Glastonbury-branded train.”
The company said it had chosen to bestow the honour on Eavis because of the huge contribution he and the festival had made to the west country. “I know Michael is a keen supporter of the railways, and when you consider the number of places this will pass through, it is safe to say thousands more will see the high regard in which he is held across the south west.”
First Great Western will lay on 50 extra trains to and from Castle Cary during the event, carrying an expected 15,000 festival goers.
