Virgin Trains

[HTA844N]

Latest picture of 221 101. (Not my photo)

[mikestone]

Advert frames have been removed from outside buffet on platforms 2/3 at Coventry station revealing departure timetables for 1985 when arrival times were shown for each journey and the occasional train that went to Scotland split at Carlisle. There is part of a West Midlands route map on platform 2 before line was reinstated to Nuneaton and mention of something called WMPTE!

I noticed those and suspect Virgin may have a deal with someone to provide replacements, both Stafford and Crewe have had some removed too, but none with such interesting results.

[HTA844N]

Latest photo of 221 101 (Not my photo)

[HTA844N]

Should now be back in traffic.

[Steveminor]

So with two weeks ( & change) left until the end of the line Virgin trains, does anyone have any fond or favourite memories or stand out moments.

Mine was the first time I saw a Birgin train in livery 22 years ago the Bright red hat stood out amongst the rest of the drab looking trains in new street making a bold statement that the full past was over & the future looked bright.

[Stu]

So with two weeks ( & change) left until the end of the line Virgin trains, does anyone have any fond or favourite memories or stand out moments.

Mine was the first time I saw a Birgin train in livery 22 years ago the Bright red hat stood out amongst the rest of the drab looking trains in new street making a bold statement that the full past was over & the future looked bright.

I don't really have a lot positive to say about Virgin Trains to be honest.

I'm not a regular train commuter, but I have on occasions had the need to travel to London (my brother lives there) and my perception has always been that their fares are overpriced.

So I've only ever travelled with Virgin Trains on the occasions where they've had special offers so the tickets were reasonably priced.

The one that sticks in my mind was the time I travelled back from Euston to Birmingham International a couple of years ago on a Sunday afternoon when I bagged a single for £9.00 (yes, I'm that much of a cheapskate!). I was surprised at how empty the carriage was, considering the number of seats that were marked as 'reserved'.

Admittedly it was a nice fast journey, even with an unscheduled stop at Watford Junction (after leaving Euston the onboard displays showed the next stop as Rugby) it took just over an hour to get to Birmingham International.

While I don't usually partake in these things, I was a bit annoyed that the 'free Wi-Fi' required you to pay to access the internet, not exactly 'free' then!

Perhaps I'm more of a 'no-frills' customer, driven by price over luxury, I'd much rather pay £6.00 to get from Solihull to Marylebone on a 2 hour journey with Chiltern Trains, than pay the usual fares offered by Virgin Trains which would have often been between £12 and £32 for a shorter journey.

[Sh4318]

I don't really have a lot positive to say about Virgin Trains to be honest.

I'm not a regular train commuter, but I have on occasions had the need to travel to London (my brother lives there) and my perception has always been that their fares are overpriced.

So I've only ever travelled with Virgin Trains on the occasions where they've had special offers so the tickets were reasonably priced.

The one that sticks in my mind was the time I travelled back from Euston to Birmingham International a couple of years ago on a Sunday afternoon when I bagged a single for £9.00 (yes, I'm that much of a cheapskate!). I was surprised at how empty the carriage was, considering the number of seats that were marked as 'reserved'.

Admittedly it was a nice fast journey, even with an unscheduled stop at Watford Junction (after leaving Euston the onboard displays showed the next stop as Rugby) it took just over an hour to get to Birmingham International.

While I don't usually partake in these things, I was a bit annoyed that the 'free Wi-Fi' required you to pay to access the internet, not exactly 'free' then!

Perhaps I'm more of a 'no-frills' customer, driven by price over luxury, I'd much rather pay £6.00 to get from Solihull to Marylebone on a 2 hour journey with Chiltern Trains, than pay the usual fares offered by Virgin Trains which would have often been between £12 and £32 for a shorter journey.

They're the most overrated TOC I've ever had the displeasure of travelling with, the first class is so underwhelming, the airline carriage layout makes it extremely difficult to get past passengers who are standing, not to mention how difficult it is to manouevre around carriages when the trains are tilting. 9/10, I travel on Chiltern, which is always a better service albeit on older stock, or London Northwestern Railway, which takes about 5 hours (overreacting, obviously), but are usually pretty cheap.

[Justin Tyme]

When I saw my first Virgin-liveried trains, headed by class 47s and 87s, I knew we were in for interesting times.  It all seemed optimistic, even allowing for PR exaggeration when Richard Branson forecast (with a twinkle in his eye) that the M1 would be grassed over in years to come due to lack of use.  The optimism may have taken a hit when Network Rail couldn't deliver signalling that would enable the new generation of electric trains to reach their full potential.

As Sh4318 says, Virgin Trains brought us airline-style carriage layout, which is OK if you're sitting by a window facing forwards but not good otherwise.  "Flying" backwards on a seat against a panel rather than a window is a grim experience.  And Virgin Trains also brought us Voyagers - fast, but even now unable to stand still smoothly.  I prefer the Chiltern Railways ambiance - better visibility and much more civilised.

Standard fares have been off-puttingly high, which I suppose reflects heavy demand and, to be honest, that was British Rail's policy as well.  However, as Stu says, there have sometimes been some surprisingly low advance fares.  One Friday 2017 I got from New Street to Ipswich for just £14 single, setting off around 1110, and got back the following afternoon for £34 single.  If I'd been prepared to travel in the evening I could have done it for £14 again.

Summing my thoughts up, Virgin Trains seem to have always known what they were doing.  I hope the new franchisee does too - we'll have to see.

[Westy]

Appears to be a problem with Brum to London trains this morning, according to the lovely Rebecca Wood on Twitter!

[Tony]

Appears to be a problem with Brum to London trains this morning, according to the lovely Rebecca Wood on Twitter!

All seem to be arriving within 5 minutes of time all morning

[Westy]

All seem to be arriving within 5 minutes of time all morning

They were blaming overrunning engineering works.

[JoNi]

Just nipped round to Coventry Station to see the departure of the Pendelino forming the last ever Virgin Train bound for Wolverhampton.
The platform departure screens had been programmed to state it was the last Virgin Train after 22 years which was a nice touch. Farewell trusty friend thats transported me more 500,000 miles.

[Ashley 60171]

Just nipped round to Coventry Station to see the departure of the Pendelino forming the last ever Virgin Train bound for Wolverhampton.
The platform departure screens had been programmed to state it was the last Virgin Train after 22 years which was a nice touch. Farewell trusty friend thats transported me more 500,000 miles.

It was 390121 for anybody who doesn't know/is interested.

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

Just heard on Midlands today that Virgin Trains might possibly return they have applied to run services between Brum and London in competition with Avanti. If this happens I assume it will be under an open track agreement

[BK63 YWP]

Yes it would be an open access company like Lumo.