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accessibility
Rail
Preston is a principal station on the west coast main line between London and Glasgow. Railtrack and Virgin Rail (the operator for the Inter City West Coast franchise) have embarked upon multi-million pound investment to improve the line's infrastructure, systems and stations, and tilting train technology was introduced in 2004 to significantly reduce journey times. Preston is also a hub for connecting rail services in the North West, with connections available to Blackpool and Manchester (via Bolton).
Road
With the city’s excellent communication links via the M6, M61 (Manchester) M55 (Blackpool), and M65 (East Lancashire) both Manchester and Liverpool airport are within easy reach.
In addition, the rapidly expanding Blackpool International Airport is just a 30 minute drive away and is now receiving flights from a number of European cities with new routes being added all the time.
Bus
Preston has a very comprehensive bus network. The 3 main local operators are:
Preston Bus - Serving only the Preston borough
Stagecoach - in Lancashire (formerly Stagecoach Ribble) - serving most areas outside the borough, particular emphasis on Walton-le-Dale, Penwortham/Longton and Longridge
John Fishwick & Sons - providing frequent services into the city centre for Lower Penwortham, Lostock Hall, Leyland, Euxton and Chorley
Preston is also served by many national bus services. Stagecoach Express, National Express, Eurolines, and Megabus all have a large presence at Preston bus station
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shopping
Preston city centre's excellent shopping facilities have significantly grown during the last decade. There has been a major expansion of The Mall St George's Shopping Centre, the refurbishment of the Fishergate Centre, anchored by the largest Debenhams in Lancashire, and the arrival of top, national high street retailers.
Fishergate has also seen the modernisation of existing stores, such as St George's Shopping Centre, Marks & Spencer and British Home Stores, which have been situated in the city centre for a number of years. These have been complemented by the arrival of new, high fashion retailers George, Primark and FCUK who sit alongside national favourites such as Boots, Woolworth's, NEXT, HMV and WH Smith.
There are also large food retailers around the town including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
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entertainment
As you would expect from 'England's newest City', Preston has a great range of events throughout the year, with something to suit all tastes. Using the city’s fabulous parks and public squares, these events range from Pop Concerts to Easter Egg Rolling in the park, to ice rinks and giant grottos at Christmas. Giant games and specialist continental markets and pot fairs are held regularly at the Flag Market and larger annual events include Mela, Caribbean Carnival, Chinese New Year celebrations, and the Riversway Festival. Preston also has a good range of restaurants to meet all tastes, along with many bars and nightclubs. There is also a multi-plex cinema and Ten-Pin Bowling
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sport & leisure
The city's two council-owned leisure centres are amongst the busiest in the county, attracting over a million visitors a year between them. A whole range of sports are regularly available, from aerobics and archery, to swimming and squash. West View Leisure is home to one of the finest climbing walls in Britain, while Fulwood offers some of the best family fun.
Preston Sports Arena provides state-of-the-art facilities and Athletics Track whilst Preston College Sports Centre and the Virgin Active Centre provide further leisure facilities.
Division One Preston North End Football Club is one of the founder members of the Football League and has recently invested millions in redeveloping the stadium to include three new stands.
Two of the first tenants in the stands are Fitness First Leisure and The National Football Museum, an independent charity which owns the world's greatest football collections, including the FIFA Museum collection, the FA, Football League and the Wembley collections.
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education
Preston is the home of the University of Central Lancashire with 35,000 students of which 10,000, receive academic awards each year. The University of Central Lancashire is the UK’s sixth largest and one of its fastest growing. Student numbers are expected to reach 50,000 by 2010. Five faculties offer a diverse range of courses from accounting to astro-physics, languages to law and engineering to environmental management.
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employment
Preston’s excellent location has helped it to adapt and diversify its employment structure from a traditional manufacturing base in textiles and engineering although British Aerospace Defence continues to employ some 10,000 people in the region. Recent investment has seen the opening of state-of-the-art communication centres for companies such as Homeserve and Carphone Warehouse and large distributive centres have become well established around the city taking advantage of the excellent communication links
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