Virgin Trains - DVirgin Trains - D Virgin Trains Depots The Class 390 fleet was allocated to the Alstom Traincare Centre at Longsight with lighter maintenance and overnight servicing carried out at Wembley, Oxley, Edge Hill and Polmadie depots. The Class 221 fleet was allocated to Bombardier's Central Rivers depot with lighter maintenance and overnight servicing carried out at Arriva TrainCare, Crewe, Holyhead and Polmadie. Virgin Trains West Coast Partnership In November 2016, the government announced that the franchise would be replaced by a new franchise named the West Coast Partnership, which will include operating High Speed 2 (HS2). Services are planned to begin on the first phase of HS2 in 2026. The Department for Transport requires that the new operator have experience in operating high-speed trains (155 mph (249 km/h)) and infrastructure. The bid for the new franchise was led by Stagecoach holding a 50% holding, Virgin with 30% and the French national railway operator SNCF holding 20%. In April 2019 Stagecoach revealed that it had been disqualified from the franchises it was bidding for following a dispute with the DfT over pension liabilities. The disqualification occurred after the bidding deadline and as a result Virgin Trains would cease operations in March 2020. In August 2019, the First Trenitalia consortium was awarded the West Coast Partnership contract, with Avanti West Coast commencing in December 2019, thus ending Virgin Trains services after 22 years. Virgin Trains Operation Virgin Trains Sponsorship Virgin Trains were Carlisle United F.C.'s travel sponsor for the 2013–14 season, and for the 2014–15 season they are the club's main shirt sponsor agreeing a further two-year deal. On 5 August 2014 Virgin Trains also agreed to be the shirt sponsor of Preston North End F.C. on a two-year deal. Darlington Football Club were also sponsored by Virgin Trains, and the company has also sponsored events such as Manchester International Festival in 2013. Virgin Trains Onboard Entertainment In July 2016 the integrated infotainment system BEAM was provided on all trains by GoMedia, delivered directly to the passenger's own devices including mobile phones and tablets. The system has been described as 'the first in-train entertainment portal in the UK'. It offered premium movies from Hollywood studios, BBC Worldwide etc. Virgin Trains Moderation of Competition As a way of protecting the revenues of Virgin Trains to enable it to pay franchise premiums to the government to partly recoup the cost of the West Coast Main Line upgrade, the Office of Rail Regulation inserted a Moderation of Competition in Virgin's Track Access Agreement. Until its expiry in March 2012, this prevented any other train operating or open access companies operating services in competition that would abstract revenue. Virgin Trains Attempts to Continue Franchise In November 2019, Virgin Trains submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to apply for a license to run trains from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston. The application stated the intention to use Class 221 Super Voyager trains (once they were retired by Avanti West Coast) with the franchise beginning in December 2022 initially until December 2027. However, in March 2020, Virgin withdrew its application for the service, citing uncertainty from the Williams Review of rail not having been published yet. Virgin Trains Overview Virgin Trains Franchise(s): InterCity West Coast 9 March 1997 – 7 December 2019 Virgin Trains Main Route(s): London–Liverpool London–West Midlands London–Chester London–Manchester Virgin Trains Other Route(s): London–Holyhead London–Shrewsbury London–Wrexham London–Blackpool Virgin Trains Fleet Size: 56 Class 390 Pendolino sets 20 Class 221 Super Voyager sets Virgin Trains Stations Called At: 46 Virgin Trains Stations Operated: 15 Virgin Trains Parent Company: Virgin Rail Group Virgin Group (51%) Stagecoach (49%) Virgin Trains Reporting Mark: VT Virgin Trains Predecessor: InterCity Virgin Trains Successor: Avanti West Coast | |||||
| |||||
