Virgin Trains
File:Virgin Trains logo.png | |
![]() | |
Overview | |
---|---|
Franchise(s) | InterCity West Coast 9 March 1997 – 8 December 2012 Cross-Country 5 January 1997 – 10 November 2007 (originally 2012) |
Main route(s) | London - Scotland, London - West Midlands, London - North West |
Other route(s) | London-North Wales, West Midlands — Scotland |
Fleet size | 57 Pendolino sets 21 Super Voyager sets 7 British Rail Class 57/3 diesel locomotives 10 British Rail Mark 3 coaches 2 British Rail Mark 3 Driving Van Trailers |
Stations called at | 42 |
Stations operated | 17 |
Parent company | Virgin Group / Stagecoach Group |
Reporting mark | VT |
Other | |
Website | www.virgintrains.co.uk |
Virgin Trains (legally known as West Coast Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom controlled by Virgin Group. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland. The company is 49% owned by Stagecoach Group. Virgin Trains's franchise will run out in December 2012, following which the FirstGroup will become the new franchise holder.
Virgin Trains is known for operating large numbers of named trains. It currently operates 72 named trains (52 class 390 units, 20 class 220 units). A 53rd class 390 unit was written off in the Grayrigg Derailment in 2007, in which an elderly woman was fatally injured, and a 21st class 220 was disbanded.
History
Virgin Trains was formed to take advantage of the privatisation of British Rail in the mid-1990s. It was initially successful in winning two rail franchises: InterCity West Coast (Virgin West Coast), operating long-distance services on the West Coast Main Line, and InterCity CrossCountry (Virgin CrossCountry), operating a group of long-distance non-London routes centred on Birmingham.[1] The two franchises, though legally and operationally separate,[2] were marketed as a single brand.
The CrossCountry franchise was lost to Arriva group in 2007.[3] Most services were transferred to Arriva, except those between Manchester and Scotland, which went to First Transpennine Express,[4] and those between Birmingham and Scotland (via the west coast mainline), which went to Virgin West Coast.[5]
In 1997 Virgin placed the largest rolling-stock order (£1bn) in British history, for new Class 390 Pendolino 140 mph electric tilting trains for the West Coast Main Line (WCML) network. The cross-country routes were served by new diesel-electric four-coach Class 220 Voyager and five-coach Class 221 SuperVoyager trains. By December 2004 Virgin Trains had replaced all the rolling stock it had inherited from British Rail.
The West Coast Main Line itself has been the subject of a £9bn refurbishment programme to accept the new trains.[6] The project ran three years over schedule and cost twice the original estimate, and was therefore cut back. As a result the Pendolinos' 140 mph potential speed is not exploited, trains running instead at a maximum 125 mph due to signalling constraints. There have been proposals for 135 mph (217 km/h) running on certain sections of the WCML, in particular the remodelled Trent Valley area, but these are yet to be considered by Network Rail. (See West Coast Main Line for full details.)
All seats originally had an on-board audio entertainment system featuring a number of radio or pre-recorded music channels. This was disabled in March 2010[7][8] and replaced with on-board WiFi provided by T-Mobile (UK).[9][10] The service is available free in First Class, and for a charge in Standard Class.[11]
Virgin Trains' West Coast franchise was to have expired on 31 March 2012, but in May 2011 the Secretary of State of Transport announced that the end-date had been postponed in order to allow officials more time to consult on possible changes to the franchise requirements.[12] The new franchise, for which Virgin was among the bidders, was to start on 9 December 2012 and run until 31 March 2026.[13] Earlier, the company had applied for a two-year extension but this was ruled out by the Department of Transport on legal grounds.[14]
Services
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Virgin_Trains_Super_Voyager_1st_Class.jpg/220px-Virgin_Trains_Super_Voyager_1st_Class.jpg)
Virgin Trains' main terminus is London Euston. A secondary terminus, for certain trains to Scotland, is Birmingham New Street. A summary of Virgin Trains services is shown below (most stations with only a limited service are not shown):[5] Stations in bold are operated by Virgin Trains.
London - Birmingham - Wolverhampton[15]
Route | Calling at | Main stock | |
---|---|---|---|
A | London Euston to Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton | London Euston, Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street, with some services extending to Sandwell and Dudley and Wolverhampton | Pendolino |
London - Manchester[16]
Route | Calling at | Main stock | |
---|---|---|---|
B | London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly | London Euston and Milton Keynes Central, branching off via Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield or Crewe and Wilmslow, and continuing to Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly | Pendolino |
London - Stafford - Liverpool[17]
Route | Calling at | Main stock | |
---|---|---|---|
C | London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street | London Euston, Stafford, Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street | Pendolino |
London / West Midlands to Chester / North Wales[18]
Route | Calling at | Main stock | |
---|---|---|---|
D | London Euston to Chester, Holyhead and Wrexham General | London Euston, Milton Keynes Central, Crewe and Chester, with one service extending to Wrexham General and others via Flint, Prestatyn, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction to Bangor (Gwynedd) or Holyhead, with one weekday service between Birmingham New Street and North West Wales. | Super Voyager |
London - The North West - Glasgow[19]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Virgin_Train.jpg/220px-Virgin_Train.jpg)
Route | Calling at | Main stock | |
---|---|---|---|
E | London Euston to Glasgow Central | London Euston, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District, Penrith, Carlisle and Glasgow Central | Pendolino |
Birmingham - The North West - Scotland[20]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Vt_vector_map.svg/220px-Vt_vector_map.svg.png)
Route | Calling at | Main stock | |
---|---|---|---|
F | Birmingham New Street to Glasgow Central or Edinburgh Waverley | Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District, Penrith, Carlisle, continuing to Glasgow Central or Haymarket and Edinburgh Waverley | Super Voyager |
Former Services
- All Virgin Trains's CrossCountry services ceased in November 2007.
- Blackpool services were withdrawn.
- As of 2008 Virgin Trains no longer operates to Llandudno.
Performance
Virgin Trains suffered poor punctuality compared with some other transport operators between 2001 and 2006, according to Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Punctuality has gradually improved, and the latest figures published on Virgin Trains' website were 89.1% for the last 4 recorded weeks (24 July to 20 August 2011).[21]
The PPM MAA (Public Performance Measure Moving Annual Average - % of trains arriving within 10 minutes of the scheduled times) figures for Virgin Trains (Cross Country services and West Coast services) are as follows:
Financial year to 31 March 2002: West Coast 68.7%, Cross Country 62.5%.[22]
Financial year to 31 March 2003: West Coast 73.5%, Cross Country 61.7%.[23]
Financial year to 31 March 2004: West Coast 74.8%, Cross Country 72.2%.[24]
Financial year to 31 March 2005: West Coast 72.1%, Cross Country 77.8%.[25]
Financial year to 31 March 2006: West Coast 83.5%, Cross Country 80.9%.[26]
Financial year to 31 March 2007: West Coast 86.0%, Cross Country 83.9%.[27]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Virgin_Trains_class_87_%26_train.jpg/220px-Virgin_Trains_class_87_%26_train.jpg)
Financial year to 31 March 2008: West Coast 86.2%.[28]
Financial year to 31 March 2009: West Coast 80.0%.[29]
Financial year to 31 March 2010: West Coast 84.6%.[30]
Financial year to 31 March 2011: West Coast 86.6%.[31]
The final figures published for the CrossCountry franchise were 83.4% (PPM) for the first half of the third quarter of financial year 2007-8 and 85.3% (MAA) for the final 12 months of the franchise.[32]
The latest figures published for the West Coast franchise were 87.8% (PPM) for the fourth quarter of 2010-11 and 86.6% (MAA) up to 31 March 2011.[33] The quarterly performance is up 4.3 percentage points on the corresponding figure from the same period a year earlier.
Chris Green as chief executive[34][35] led a drive to improve reliability and punctuality after much press criticism in 2001, and by 2006, due to improved reliability of trains and completion of major infrastructure projects, performance was better. Virgin has undertaken a number of projects to increase punctuality, including radio-controlled watches.[36]
Grayrigg derailment
On 23 February 2007, Pendolino 390033 forming the 17:15 service from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed near Oxenholme in North West England.[37] The train was carrying 109 people. Several carriages were left lying on the railway embankments. An elderly woman died in the crash. Five people were seriously injured. The accident was caused by a faulty set of points.[38] The train itself was widely praised for the way it stood up to the accident: it kept its shape while rolling down the embankment and did not lose its structural integrity.
The future
Projected growth in passenger numbers on the West Coast routes prompted discussions about increasing the length of Pendolino sets to 11 vehicles.[39] The possibility of 10-car trains was foreseen in the original WCML strategy, so the infrastructure improvements required would be minimal. The DfT has ordered two extra coaches for 31 of the 52 sets. These will be supplemented by four entirely new 11-car trains, ordered in 2008.[40] This order is to be completed in time for the May 2012 timetable following the franchise change in April 2012. One set has arrived and had a few test runs before the Virgin Trains Media Room on the website announced on 12 July 2011 that the new 11-car Pendolino (with two carriages removed) was to be handed over to them over the weekend of that time.[41]
Following completion of the Trent Valley Line quadrupling and Rugby junction upgrades to allow 125 mph running (completed by 2008), West Coast journey times fell further: Glasgow-Euston 4hr 15mins, Euston-Birmingham 1hr 10 mins (fastest) or 1hr 20mins (off-peak). Virgin claims that 135 mph running may be possible in places,[42] although Network Rail remains sceptical, stating that significant signalling upgrades would be required.[citation needed]
In February 2008, Virgin announced that it would begin services between London and Wrexham via Chester, initially on a trial basis with one train per day on weekdays in each direction. Should the service prove successful, Virgin plans to introduce more services during the week and at weekends.[43]
Richard Branson has launched a campaign to have the next franchise period extended for 20 to 30 years, so that Virgin would be able to spend more on infrastructure and be able to see a return on investment.[44] He said the journey time between London and Birmingham could be reduced by 22 minutes to under one hour.
Rolling stock
Current fleet
The majority of Virgin's services along the WCML are operated by its fleet of 54 nine-car Class 390 Pendolino EMUs. 16 Class 57 diesel locomotives were operated by Virgin, although four of these are now operated by Arriva Trains Wales. Network Rail recently took a further six from the fleet, leaving Virgin Trains with 6. These locomotives are primarily used for "Thunderbird" duties, i.e. to rescue failed trains. Virgin also operates 21 five-car Class 221 Super Voyager tilting DMUs; these primarily operate on the WCML north of Birmingham, and on the North Wales line.
Virgin Trains has now signed a lease on a rake of dedicated Mark 3 coaches, with a DVT. This set, nicknamed the 'Pretendolino',[citation needed] has been refurbished to the same standard as the Pendolinos and Super Voyagers; re-upholstered seating, power points, wi-fi and a full external re-paint has been implemented. Virgin uses this set with a Class 90 locomotive hired from Freightliner on the 18:43 Euston to Crewe (via Birmingham) Friday relief service, and also to hires the train out as a charter train. It also serves as a spare if a Pendolino or Super Voyager breaks down.[45][46] It was used in the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and can be seen at King's Cross station at the end of the film. Virgin Trains has stated that subject to keeping the franchise, the 'Pretendolino' will stay with it and will probably receive power door modifications and a full internal refurbishment which will include replacement of the older BR IC70 seating.[citation needed]
Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Fleet Size | In traffic | Routes operated | Built | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mph | km/h | ||||||||
Class 57/3 | ![]() |
Diesel locomotive | 95 | 153 | 7 | 7 | Thunderbird locomotive | 2002–2004 | Originally fleet of 16, 6 transferred to Network Rail and 3 transferred to Direct Rail Services. |
Class 221 Super Voyager | ![]() |
Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit | 125 | 200 | 21 | 20[47] | London - Chester/Holyhead Birmingham - Glasgow/Edinburgh |
2001–2002 | 221142 and 221143 both originally 4 car sets, 221144 was disbanded to make them up to 5 car sets and its driving cars are now stored. |
Class 390 Pendolino | Electric Multiple Unit | 140 | 225 | 57 | 56 | London - Birmingham/Wolverhampton London - Manchester London - Liverpool London - Glasgow |
2001–2004 2009–2012 |
390033 stored/partially scrapped after Grayrigg derailment. Pendolino (from Italian pendolo) refers to tilting trains. | |
Class 90[48] | Electric locomotive | 110 | 180 | Hired from Freightliner | Relief train Charter Train Spare Train |
1987–1990 | Part of Virgin hauled set | ||
Mark 3 Coach[48] | Passenger Coach | 125 | 200 | 10 | 9 | Relief train Charter Train Spare Train |
1975–1986 (refurbished 2009) | Part of Virgin hauled set 5 TSO, 1 RFM and 3 FO vehicles in use 1 RFM vehicle stored | |
Driving Van Trailer | 125 | 200 | 2 | 1 | Relief train Charter Train Spare Train |
1988 (refurbished 2009) | Part of Virgin hauled set 82126 in use 82101 stored |
The Pendolino fleet is allocated to the Alstom Traincare Centre at Longsight (Manchester), with lighter maintenance and overnight stabling carried out at Wembley (London), Oxley (Wolverhampton), Edge Hill (Liverpool) and Polmadie (Glasgow). Longsight is also 'home' to the Class 57 'Thunderbird' fleet. Thunderbird locomotives are stationed at strategic points along the WCML such as Crewe and Preston.
The Class 221 Super Voyager fleet is allocated to Bombardier's Central Rivers depot near Burton upon Trent.
See also
- Megatrain
- National Rail
- Rail franchising in Great Britain
- List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom
- Rail transport in Great Britain
References
- ^ "Passenger Rail Franchises — Virgin Cross Country". Association of Train Operating Companies.
- ^ "Site Terms & Conditions". Virgin Trains.
- ^ "Virgin loses Cross Country rail". BBC News. London. 10 July 2007.
- ^ "The Pennine Class 185 experience - What do passengers think?" (PDF). Passenger Focus. May 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
From December 2007 the TransPennine network will be expanded to include services between Manchester Airport and Scotland replacing the current Cross Country service on the West Coast Main Line operated by Virgin CrossCountry.
- ^ a b Network Map, Virgin Trains.
- ^ "West Coast Main Line. Built in the 19th Century. Rebuilt for the 21st". Network Rail. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ "Please note: Virgin Trains onboard entertainment system no longer functions." Headphones, Virgin Trains.
- ^ http://www.northernrailways.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2921&start=0
- ^ "Virgin Trains customers get on-board WiFi between Birmingham and Scotland" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 5 November 2009.
- ^ "Virgin Trains customers get on-board WiFi from North Wales and Chester" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 5 November 2009.
- ^ "Wi-Fi on Virgin Trains". Virgin Trains. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Milmo, Dan (15 May 2011). "Transport minister Philip Hammond delays Virgin Trains' west coast sale". The Observer. London.
- ^ "Virgin Rail Group welcomes West Coast franchise extension discussions". Rail Network. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
: Text "21 May 2011" ignored (help) - ^ Ford, Roger (2010). "No extension for Virgin". Modern Railways. p. 7.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/timetables/vt-timetable-a.pdf
- ^ http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/timetables/vt-timetable-b.pdf
- ^ http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/timetables/vt-timetable-c.pdf
- ^ http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/timetables/vt-timetable-d.pdf
- ^ http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/timetables/vt-timetable-e.pdf
- ^ http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/timetables/vt-timetable-f.pdf
- ^ "Virgin Trains' Performance" (PDF). Virgin Trains.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2001-2002 Quarter Four" (PDF). Strategic Rail Authority.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2002-2003 Quarter Four" (PDF). Strategic Rail Authority.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2003-2004 Quarter Four" (PDF). Strategic Rail Authority.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2004-2005 Quarter Four" (PDF). Strategic Rail Authority.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2005-2006 Quarter Four" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2006-2007 Quarter Four" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2007-2008 Quarter Four" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2008-2009 Quarter Four" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2009-2010 Quarter Four" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2010-2011 Quarter Four" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends 2007-2008 Quarter Three" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ "National Rail Trends Chapter 2" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
- ^ Thornton, Philip (17 February 1999). "The Player: Chris Green, Chief Executive of Virgin Rail: Right man to tackle 'mission impossible'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ Balmforth, John (2007). Virgin Trains: a decade of progress. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3224-8.
- ^ "Virgin Trains goes Atomic" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 28 February 2006.
- ^ "Train crashes in Lake District". BBC News Online. 23 February 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
- ^ "Rail crash report blames points". BBC News Online. 26 February 2007.
- ^ "Pendolino lengthening and fleet expansion project". Department for Transport.
- ^ "West Coast Pendolino contract signed". Railway Gazette International. London. May 2008.
- ^ "New Alstom Pendolino train to enter service with Virgin Trains next week". Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ ""We've started.....so we'll finish," says Sir Richard" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 24 April 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ "Wrexham to London rail link launch". Daily Post. Liverpool. 21 February 2008.
- ^ Wright, Robert (20 May 2009). "Branson urges £1bn rail spend". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
- ^ Google Groups page on the topic
- ^ Fotopic.net pictures of the refurbished set[dead link]
- ^ "Virgin to eliminate four-car Super Voyagers". Rail News. London. 16 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Charter train potential for Virgin Trains' 'new-look' loco-hauled trainset" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 1 July 2009.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)