Virgin Trains
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| National Rail abbreviation | VT |
|---|---|
| Fleet size | Class 390 |
| Class 221 Super Voyager | |
| Stations operated | 16 |
| Franchise(s) | InterCity West Coast |
| 9 March 1997 | |
| 31 March 2020 | |
| Headquarters | London |
| United Kingdom | |
| Parent organizations | Virgin Trains |
| Virgin Group | |
| Stagecoach Group | |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 909298 |
About Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Stagecoach, that has operated the InterCity West Coast franchise since 9 March 1997.
With the carriage rail will take the franchise series to the High Court
...Virgin Trains replaced, on the West Coast Main Line to the stagecoach disqualified UK rail operator post was taken from the carriage, the government has been the Supreme court, with the argument that the Minister acted illegally in the awarding of rail franchises...
Avanti starts running West Coast Main Line after Virgin franchise ends
...Avanti West Coast has taken over from Virgin Trains as the operator running the West Coast Main Line...
Virgin Trains: Final service set to depart as UK's longest-running rail franchise ends
... Virgin Trains, which began serving the West Coast Main Line in 1997, is being replaced by Avanti West Coast...
West Coast Mainline passengers 'stranded for seven hours'
... Passengers have been queuing at stations for rail replacement buses Virgin Trains said a rescue locomotive retrieved two trains and a third was involved in a train-to-train evacuation...
West Coast Rail prices could rise, warns watchdog
... Stagecoach ran the franchise with Virgin Trains for more than 20 years...
Rain causes travel disruption in Wales and Shropshire
... Virgin Trains reported into Sunday...
London Euston: Commuters face chaos after boy falls from bridge
... London Northwestern Railway, London Overground, Southern and Virgin Trains were all affected: Network Rail warned problems would last until the end of service as trains were out of place National Rail said anybody unable to travel on Friday night could use trains on Saturday for no extra cost...
August bank holiday 2019: Where to avoid on roads and rail
... Virgin Trains services will be down to one per hour on most routes, and services between London Euston and Holyhead will run between Crewe and Holyhead only...
West Coast Rail prices could rise, warns watchdog
The UK's competition watchdog has raised concerns train ticket prices could rise under the new operators of the West Coast Rail franchise.
FirstGroup and Trenitalia won The Contract to run the rail route between London Euston and Glasgow or Edinburgh.
The Competition and Markets Authority said that on 21 routes, passengers would have little or no option but to choose a service run by FirstGroup.
FirstGroup said there were no competition issues on most routes.
The CMA said that following The First phase of an investigation into the new contract, it discovered that on 17 routes between Preston and Scotland passengers could only choose from West Coast Rail, operated by the Joint Venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia, or from Transpennine Express , which is operated solely by FirstGroup.
It also pointed out that there were four routes between Oxenholme in the Lake District and Carlisle where travellers could only choose between the Joint Venture , Transpennine Express , and from one other company.
"The CMA is concerned this could lead to higher fares and less availability of cheaper tickets because train passengers would have no alternatives, or limited options, to choose from," it said.
A spokesman for FirstGroup, said: "We have been discussing our plans for the new West Coast Partnership franchise with the CMA for several months and we are pleased that on the vast majority of routes, it has found no competition issues.
"Now that this update gives more clarity, we look forward to submitting our proposals which we envisage will satisfy their concerns. "
The CMA said that in previous cases, when it had raised competition concerns with rail companies, its concerns were resolved "by the companies agreeing to price caps on affected lines".
But it said that if FirstGroup and Trenitalia's proposals to guard against higher prices were insufficient, the CMA would launch a more in-depth investigation into the issue.
FirstGroup and Trenitalia won The Contract to run the West Coast Rail franchise following a controversial process that saw Stagecoach banned from bidding for The Contract .
Stagecoach ran The Franchise with Virgin Trains for More Than 20 years.
firstgroup, west coast main line, competition and markets authority, rail travel, west coast railway company, virgin trains
Source of news: bbc.com
