User:RFBailey/VT

Overview
Franchise(s)	InterCity West Coast 9th March 1997 – 31st March 2012
Main route(s)	London - West Midlands London - Manchester/Liverpool London - North West England - Scotland
Other route(s)	London-North Wales Birmingham - Scotland
Fleet size	53 Pendolino sets 21 Super Voyager sets
Stations called at	44
Stations operated	17
Parent company	Virgin Group / Stagecoach Group
Reporting mark	VT
Other
Website	www.virgintrains.co.uk

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom, which currently provides services from London Euston to the West Midlands, the North West and Scotland, on the West Coast Main Line. Prior to 11 November 2007, the company also provided services linking the south and south-west of England with the north of England and Scotland, via Birmingham. Although it is branded as part of the Virgin Group, their share in the company is only 51%, with the remaining 49% held by Stagecoach Group.

Virgin Trains was formed to take advantage of the privatisation of British Rail in the mid 1990s, and was initially successful in winning two: InterCity West Coast and InterCity Cross Country. The two franchises, although separate companies (in common ownership) both legally and operationally, were marketed as a single brand.

Current services

Code		Route	Rolling stock
A		London Euston to Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton	Pendolino
B		London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent or Crewe	Pendolino
C		London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street	Pendolino
D		London Euston to Holyhead/Llandudno	Super Voyager/Pendolino
E		London Euston to Glasgow Central via Preston	Pendolino
F		Birmingham New Street to Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley via Preston	Super Voyager

Cross Country franchise

Main article: Virgin Cross Country

Prior to 11 November 2007, Virgin Trains ran the Cross Country franchise, which operated long-distance services from the south and south-west of England, via Birmingham and Midlands to the north of England and Scotland. These services have now been transferred to a new franchise, CrossCountry, which was awarded to the Arriva Group, along with some former Central Trains services. However, the former Virgin Cross Country services between Birmingham and Scotland via the West Coast Main Line have been transferred to the West Coast franchise (and thus remain operated by Virgin), while those between Manchester and Scotland will eventually be transferred to First TransPennine Express.

Class 87 electric locomotive and Mark 3 coaches.

History

Grayrigg derailment

Main article: Grayrigg derailment

On the evening of 23 February, 2007, a Virgin Trains Pendolino from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed near Oxenholme in North West England. The train was the 17:15 service, headcode 1S83, from Euston. The train was carrying about 180 people. Several carriages were left lying on the railway embankments. An 84-year-old woman, named as Margaret Masson, from Glasgow, died in the crash. Five seriously injured people were hospitalised suffering from back, neck and head injuries. One of those in a serious condition was the train driver, Iain Black. The accident was caused by a faulty set of points.

The future

Projected growth in passenger numbers on the West Coast routes has prompted discussions about increasing the length of Pendolino sets to 11 or (more likely) 10 vehicles. The likelihood of 10 car formations was foreseen in the original WCML strategy, so minimal infrastructure improvements would be required. A decision was expected from DfT by the end of 2006. This has been put in jeopardy recently as a result of an enquiry into the leasing of trains being carried out by the Competition Commission. It is likely that plans will delay the improvements until 2011/2012.

Following the completion of the Trent Valley Line quadrupling and Rugby junction upgrades to allow 125mph running (completed by 2008), West Coast journey times are expected to fall further; Glasgow-Euston 4hr 15mins, Euston-Birmingham 1hr 20mins. Virgin claim that 135mph running may be possible in places, although Network Rail remain sceptical - stating that significant signalling upgrades would be required.

Other franchises

Virgin have consistently expressed an interest in the InterCity East Coast franchise since privatisation. However, it failed in its bid in 2005 to gain control of the route from incumbent GNER. On 15 December 2006, the DfT announced its wishes for GNER to 'surrender' the East Coast franchise, following financial and operational problems at its parent company, Sea Containers. This caused a re-start of the bidding process in which the DfT stated that GNER was welcome to re-bid for the franchise, an opportunity which they did not take up. However in a curious twist the GNER board later announced they would join the bid submitted Virgin and Stagecoach Group which has been shortlisted under the name "Intercity Railways". On Tuesday 14 August 2007, Department for Transport announced that National Express East Coast (NXEC Trains Ltd) had won the franchise .

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An open-access operator, Wrexham & Shropshire, has submitted a plan to operate services between London and North Wales, which would involve utilising a stretch of the WCML. Virgin Trains objected to this proposal, which would have seen Wrexham & Shropshire having trains call at Wolverhampton. Due to the moderation of competition protection that is part of Virgin's West Coast franchise agreement, Wrexham & Shropshire have had to submit a new proposal that will involve only limited use of Wolverhampton, with Tame Bridge Parkway railway station used as its main Midlands stop. Wrexham & Shropshire are due to begin their operations in spring 2008.

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On June 7, 2007, Richard Branson and Gordon Brown launched Europe's first bio-diesel train for a scheduled 11:27 London Euston - Llandudno service.

Rolling Stock

Current fleet

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 57/3		Diesel locomotive	95	120	16	North Wales Coast Line "Thunderbird" rescue locomotive	1962-1967 as class 47 (Rebuilt 1998-2004)
Class 221 Super Voyager		Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit	125	200	21	North Wales Coast Line & Birmingham - Scotland	2001
Class 390 Pendolino		Electric Multiple Unit	125	200	53	West Coast Main Line North Wales Coast Line	2001 - 2004

Past fleet

Class	Image	Type	Built	Withdrawn	Notes
Class 43 High Speed Train		diesel locomotive	1976 - 1982	2004
Class 47		diesel locomotive	1962 - 1968	2003	Some locos converted into Class 57
Class 86		electric locomotive	1965 - 1966	2003
Class 87		electric locomotive	1973 - 1975	2006	Stored at MOD Long Marston
Class 90		electric locomotive	1987 - 1990	2004	Now used by 'one', small number of vehicles retained for backup purposes.
Class 158 Express Sprinter		diesel multiple unit	1989 - 1992	2001	now operated by First Great Western
Class 220 Voyager		Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit	2001	2007	now operated by CrossCountry
Mark 2 Coach		Passenger Rolling stock	1964 - 1975	2003	In Storage - some vehicles exported to New Zealand
Mark 3 Coach		Passenger Rolling stock	1975 - 1988	2006	Now used by 'one', small number of vehicles retained for backup purposes.
		Driving Van Trailer	1988	2006	Now used by 'one', small number of vehicles retained for backup purposes.

See also

• Megatrain
• National Rail

External links

• Virgin Trains web site
• Virgin Trains Pendolino Seat Plans from V-Flyer, customer created site.
• Virgin Trains Voyager Seat Plans from V-Flyer, customer created site.
• In-depth analysis of the circumstances surrounding the recent Pendolino derailing in Cumbria
• Report and technical analysis on the 23/02/2007 Pendelino Accident in Cumbria Updated from the scene at the iVirtua Community
• BBC News on Cross Country loss