Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. They ran trains from London Euston to the North West, West Midlands and Scotland on the West Coast Main Line and trains on the East Coast Main Coast Mainline between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland. Before 11 November 2007, they also run trains linking the south and south-west of England with the north of England through Manchester and Scotland, through Birmingham, under the CrossCountry franchise. Although it is branded as part of Virgin Group, Virgin's share in the company is only 51%, with the remaining 49% owned by Stagecoach. Virgin's share in Virgin Trains East Coast is only 10% with 90% being owned by Stagecoach, although the company is also branded under the Virgin name. The East Coast franchise was transferred to London North Eastern Railway in 2019, and the West Coast franchise to Avanti West Coast.
| Franchise(s): | InterCity West Coast 9 March 1997 -2019 [1] |
|---|---|
| Main route(s): | London - Scotland London - North West London - West Midlands London - Chester |
| Other route(s): | London - Holyhead London - Shrewsbury London - Wrexham London - Blackpool |
| Fleet size: | 56 Class 390 Pendolino sets 20 Class 221 Super Voyager sets |
| Stations called at: | 48 |
| Stations operated: | 17 |
| National Rail abbreviation: | VT |
| Parent company: | Virgin Rail Group Virgin Group (51%) Stagecoach (49%) |
| Web site: | www.virgintrains.co.uk |
New trains
Their first trains, formerly owned by British Rail, were very old and broken down, but were replaced by new trains in 2002 on the West Coast and CrossCountry lines. New trains were built for their East Coast operations.
Gallery
Virgin Trains 82114 Driving Van Trailer Platform 1 Glasgow Central Station, Scotland July 2000.
Virgin Trains, Class 221 SuperVoyager, 221109 "Marco Polo" at Chester station.
A Class 220 Voyager at Bristol.
A picture of a Virgin Trains' MK 3 carriage at Crewe station in the year 2000. It is in its former Inter City livery. Most are now either renovated or scrapped. They were too old to use.
The interior of Standard Class aboard a Class 390 Pendolino.
The interior of First Class aboard a 390 Pendolino.
The complimentary breakfast was served to passengers in First Class aboard the Class 390 Pendolino trains before the improved service was launched in January 2009.
Virgin Trains East Coast InterCity 125 interior
Virgin Trains Media
Diagram of the ownership of TOCs between Virgin and Stagecoach
A vector map showing the off-peak service pattern each hour
Virgin Trains West Coast passenger numbers in the previous year from 2011 to 2019.
Standard Class aboard a Class 390 Pendolino
- NortholtVirginTrainsclass.jpg(AuMorandarteFlickr)
Diagram of a class 221 super voyager in the new 2018 flowing silk livery
Virgin Class 390, 390154, Stoke-on-Trent railway station
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Related pages
References
- ↑ Government launches bids for West Coast franchise. Buying Business Travel. 27 March 2018. http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/2728607-government-launches-bidding-west-coast-franchise. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
Other websites
- Department for Transport Archived 2010-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Virgin Trains Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
| Preceded by InterCity' As part of British Rail |
Operator of Cross-Country franchise 1997 — 2007 |
Succeeded by CrossCountry |
| Operator of InterCity West Coast franchise 1997 — 2017 |
Incumbent | |
| Preceded by East Coast (train operating company) |
Operator of InterCity East Coast franchise 2015 — 2018 |
Succeeded by London North Eastern Railway |
- REDIRECT Template:UK TOCs
