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Virgin Rail Group

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Virgin Rail Group
Company typeLimited company
IndustryTransport
Founded1997
FounderRichard Branson
HeadquartersLondon, England
Area served
United Kingdom
OwnerVirgin Group (51%)
Stagecoach (49%)
SubsidiariesVirgin CrossCountry (1997–2007)
Virgin Trains West Coast (1997–2019)
Websitewww.virgintrains.co.uk
Virgin Trains West Coast Pendolino at Birmingham New Street in September 2003

Virgin Rail Group (WCT Group since 2021)[1] is a British rail transport company that was formed by the Virgin Group to bid for rail franchises in the United Kingdom during the privatisation of British Rail in the late 1990s.

United Kingdom operations

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1990s

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Amid the privatisation of British Rail during the mid 1990s, Virgin submitted multiple bids to operate several different train franchises, including Gatwick Express, InterCity CrossCountry and InterCity West Coast.[2] It was successful in winning the latter two, leading to Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast commencing operations in January and March 1997 respectively.[3][4] Both franchises were scheduled to run for 15 years.

One of Virgin's franchise commitments was to replace the British Rail-era locomotives and rolling stock inherited by Virgin West Coast with brand new tilting trains. Following negotiations with several manufacturers, Virgin placed an order with Alstom/Fiat Ferroviaria to produce the envisioned tilting train, which was known by the name Pendolino and was later designated under TOPS as the Class 390.[5] It was expected that the Pendolinos would run at service speeds of up to 140 mph (225 km/h) and that the whole fleet would be delivered by May 2002.[6] The service introduction of the Pendolino was repeatedly delayed, a fact which has been attributed to the poor project management and the collapse of infrastructure owner Railtrack.[7]

In order for tilting trains to be operated, Railtrack had committed itself to upgrading the West Coast Main Line as to permit 140 mph operation by 2005. However, the modernisation of the line suffered from spiralling costs, rising from an estimated £2 billion to roughly £10 billion,[8] while the programme had failures that were technical as well as managerial, such as the moving block signalling apparatus being immature for such a busy mixed-traffic mainline.[9][10] Railtrack would ultimately collapse while its successor, Network Rail, would also be unable to fully deliver the promised upgrade, heavily impacting Virgin West Coast's operations.[11][12] The upgrade programme would be cut back, as a result, the top speed was reduced to 125 mph.[13] The Pendolino fleet was introduced into passenger services from Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly on 23 July 2002, coinciding with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.[14]

In October 1998, Virgin Group sold 49% of the shares in Virgin Rail Group to the British transport company Stagecoach.[15]

2000s

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In March 2000, Virgin was shortlisted to bid for the InterCity East Coast franchise.[16][17] During January 2002, the Strategic Rail Authority scrapped the refranchising process and awarded a two-year extension to GNER.[18]

In the wake of the collapse of Railtrack and the inability of Network Rail to deliver on the 140 mph (225 km/h) West Coast Main Line upgrade, both the Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast franchises were suspended in favour of management contracts in July 2002.[19][20][21] While the terms of the West Coast franchise were renegotiated, agreement could not be reached on CrossCountry and it was retendered in 2007. While Virgin Trains did bid to retain the franchise, it was awarded to Arriva, thus the services operated by Virgin CrossCountry were transferred to CrossCountry on 11 November 2007.[22][23]

During 2004, Virgin was again shortlisted to bid for the InterCity East Coast franchise, but was ultimately unsuccessful; the franchise was instead won by Sea Containers, parent company of then train operator Great North Eastern Railway.[24] After Sea Containers was stripped of the East Coast franchise due to poor financial management,[25] Virgin was again shortlisted for the InterCity East Coast franchise in February 2007, submitting a bid had a 10% shareholding by the incumbent, Sea Containers. However, this bid was not successful, as the franchise was won by National Express.[26][27]

During July 2008, Virgin was awarded a contract by the DfT to manage the introduction of 106 extra Class 390 Pendolino carriages.[28][29] Virgin Trains made further enhancements to the Pendolino fleet,[30] perhaps most noticeable change was the 21 nine-car units each had one first class carriage converted to standard class.[31][32][33]

2010s

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Virgin was shortlisted for the InterCity West Coast franchise by the DfT in March 2011.[34] In August 2012, the Department awarded FirstGroup the new franchise.[35] Virgin felt that the methodology used to award the franchise was flawed, and Richard Branson said it was unlikely Virgin would bid for any future franchises.[36][37] When the DfT did not respond to Virgin's concerns, it launched proceedings for a judicial review.[38] While preparing its case for the judicial review, the government discovered significant technical flaws in the way the franchise process had been conducted, and cancelled the competition, vindicating Virgin's protests.[39]

In December 2012, Virgin was awarded a 23-month management contract to run the West Coast franchise until November 2014;[40] the contract was extended in stages until March 2020.[41]

During May 2013, there was a controversy regarding new uniforms, with claims that the blouses were too revealing and potentially exposed dark bras to the public. Virgin Rail Group responded to this by offering a voucher worth £20 to allow employees to purchase a top to wear underneath the new blouses.[42]

In November 2016, the government announced that the InterCity West Coast franchise would be replaced by the West Coast Partnership, which included operating High Speed 2 (HS2). Services were planned to begin on the first phase of HS2 in 2026.[43] The DfT requires that the new operator have experience in operating high speed trains (250 mph) and infrastructure.[44][45] To satisfy this requirement, Stagecoach (50%) and Virgin (20%) bid in a joint venture with SNCF (30%).[46][47] In April 2019, Stagecoach revealed that it had been disqualified from the franchises it was bidding for, including the West Coast Partnership.[48][49] One month later, the company announced that it would legally challenge the disqualification.[50] However, on 17 June 2020, the High Court ruled against the company and that the decision had been lawful.[51][52] Accordingly, Virgin Trains ceased in December 2019.

In June 2019, Virgin lodged an application to the Office of Rail & Road for an open access service from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street calling at Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street to rival the West Coast Partnership franchisee from May 2021.[53] The application was later withdrawn.

Non United Kingdom rail operations

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In 1998, Virgin Rail, as part of the Capital Rail consortium, was shortlisted for an Australian high-speed rail service from Sydney to Canberra.[54]

During November 2018, it was announced that Virgin Group would become a minority investor in the American company Brightline and would provide rights to rebrand the service as Virgin Trains USA.[55][56] However, in August 2020, managers at the company alleged that Virgin had not provided the agreed investment money and thus it would be ending its branding deal, returning to the previous Brightline brand.[57][58][59] In March 2021, Virgin sued Brightline for $251.3 million because of the broken contract.[60][61] In October 2023, the High Court in London ruled in favour of Virgin, and awarded the company $115 million in damages. Brightline stated its intention to appeal the judgement.[62]

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Virgin's role in the privatisation of British Rail was lampooned in Thomas the Privatised Tank Engine, a 1994 parody children's book published by Private Eye magazine. A send-up of The Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry, it mentions characters such as "Gordon the Virgin Engine" (Gordon the Big Engine) and "The Bearded Controller" (The Fat Controller, reimagined as Richard Branson).

References

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  1. ^ Companies House extract company no 03282548 Archived 8 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Virgin Rail Group Limited
  2. ^ "National Express wins Gatwick rail franchise" Archived 25 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Independent 4 April 1996
  3. ^ "Virgin to run CrossCountry trains" Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Independent 14 November 1996
  4. ^ Harrison, Michael (31 January 1997). "Virgin pledges tilt trains for West Coast". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Full tilt: Virgin's 140mph Pendolino trains". Mathieson, SA. March 2002. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  6. ^ Knight, Stephen (2 December 1998). "Virgin's first West Coast tilt train 'on test by July 2000'" (PDF). Rail. No. 345. EMAP Apex Publications. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  7. ^ Hughes, Murray (1 February 2003). "Pendolino to attack the London - Manchester market". Railway Gazette International. Sutton: DVV Media Group. ISSN 0373-5346. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Repair costs spiral to £5bn". BBC News. 15 December 1999. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  9. ^ Meek, James (1 April 2004). "The main players in the £10bn rail fiasco". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "The Modernisation of the West Coast Main Line". National Audit Office. 22 November 2006. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  11. ^ Christian, Wolmar (16 July 2005). "Forget Byers: the scandal was in the original sell-off: Railtrack was heading for disaster long before the Hatfield crash". The Guardian.
  12. ^ "Supplementary memorandum by the Strategic Rail Authority". House of Commons. 22 July 2002.
  13. ^ "West Coast railway upgrade under threat". The Telegraph. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Virgin Pendolino starts". Railway Gazette International. Sutton: DVV Media Group. 1 September 2002. ISSN 0373-5346. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Virgin passengers get 'better deal". BBC News. 7 October 1998. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Six Companies Shortlisted for First Franchise Replacement Round". Shadow Strategic Rail Authority. 14 March 2000. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Virgin's 200 mph East Coast Vision". BBC News. 6 March 2000. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013.
  18. ^ "High-speed GNER trains scrapped". BBC News. 16 January 2002. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Virgin Rail Group Interim Agreement". House of Commons Select Committee on Transport. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017.
  20. ^ "CrossCountry could be carved up as SRA rejects Virgin bid". Rail Magazine. No. 494. 18 August 2004. p. 6.
  21. ^ "CrossCountry network could be axed, fears Virgin". The Railway Magazine. No. 1242. October 2004. p. 4.
  22. ^ "New Cross Country Franchise Specification Issued". Virgin Trains. 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011.
  23. ^ "Department for Transport announces winner of New Cross Country franchise". Department for Transport. 10 July 2007. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ "GNER wins second franchise term". Railway Gazette International. 1 May 2005. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.
  25. ^ "From poisoned chalice to Holy Grail?". Rail. Bauer Media Group. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  26. ^ "Four in East Coast rail shortlist". BBC News. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007.
  27. ^ "National Express awarded contract for growth on InterCity East Coast" (Press release). Department for Transport. 14 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  28. ^ "Pendolino lengthening and fleet expansion project". Department for Transport. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2019 – via The National Archives.
  29. ^ "Virgin Rail Group welcomes decision on longer Pendolino trains". Virgin Trains. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
  30. ^ "We're looking to build on the retention of train franchise" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  31. ^ "Pendolino Coach G Conversions". The Red Letter (Mailing list). Virgin Trains. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2019 – via Newsweaver.
  32. ^ "More Seats for Virgin Trains Pendolino Fleet" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018 – via Mynewsdesk.
  33. ^ "Better journeys for passengers on the West Coast Main Line" (Press release). Department for Transport. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014 – via gov.uk.
  34. ^ "Shortlisted Bidders for Greater Anglia and InterCity West Coast Franchises" (PDF). Department for Transport. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2013.
  35. ^ "New operator for West Coast passengers". Department for Transport. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012.
  36. ^ "Richard Branson attacks Government 'insanity' after Virgin loses West Coast contract". The Daily Telegraph. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017.
  37. ^ "Virgin Trains loses West Coast Mainline franchise". BBC News. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018.
  38. ^ "Virgin Trains takes West Coast Main Line court action". BBC News. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018.
  39. ^ "West Coast Main Line franchise competition cancelled". Department for Transport. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012.
  40. ^ "Two-year extension for Virgin Rail after West Coast chaos". The Daily Telegraph. 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018.
  41. ^ "Virgin Rail Group West Coast rail franchise". RNS – London Stock Exchange. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  42. ^ "Bra wars: Virgin Trains in row over see-through uniforms". AOL Travel UK. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  43. ^ New West Coast rail franchise to run HS2 services Archived 7 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine BBC News 4 November 2016
  44. ^ Wanted: Superfast mover to partner Virgin and Stagecoach for HS2 Archived 5 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Times 4 March 2017
  45. ^ RENFE poised to join Virgin's HS2 franchise bid Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Railway Gazette International 12 March 2017
  46. ^ Stagecoach and Virgin to join forces with SNCF for West Coast Partnership Bid Archived 27 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Stagecoach 25 July 2017
  47. ^ Stagecoach and SNCF lead Virgin-branded bid for HS2 operations Archived 25 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Railway Gazette International 25 July 2017
  48. ^ "Stagecoach disqualified from bidding for three British franchises". International Railway Journal. 10 April 2019.
  49. ^ "Virgin Trains to disappear in less than a year due to pensions row". The Independent. 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019.
  50. ^ "Stagecoach takes legal action over West Coast franchise". BBC News. 24 May 2019.
  51. ^ "Decision to disqualify bidders from rail franchise procurements was lawful: High Court". localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk. 17 June 2020.
  52. ^ Hart, Charlie (18 June 2020). "Stagecoach 'disappointed' by High Court ruling on rail bid ban". Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
  53. ^ Virgin Trains plans rival London-Liverpool services after franchise loss Archived 11 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine 11 June 2019
  54. ^ "Riding the Big Ticket" Railway Digest August 1998. p 18.
  55. ^ Cohen, Howard (16 November 2018). "Brightline forms a partnership with Virgin. A name change is coming soon". Miami Herald.
  56. ^ Branson, Richard (16 November 2018). "Introducing Virgin Trains USA". Virgin. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  57. ^ Levin, Jonathan (7 August 2020). "Florida Luxury Train Cuts Branson Ties, Drops Virgin Name". Bloomberg Media.
  58. ^ Ohnsman, Alan (7 August 2020). "High-Speed Rail Startup Brightline Ends Alliance With Richard Branson's Virgin". Forbes. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  59. ^ Johnston, Katie (11 August 2020). "Brightline Trains Ends Partnership With Richard Branson's Virgin Group". WFOR-TV. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  60. ^ Lyons, David (8 March 2021). "Virgin sues Brightline for $251.3 million over marketing divorce". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  61. ^ Burroughs, David (9 March 2021). "Virgin sues Brightline for $US 251.3m over naming contract". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  62. ^ "Virgin Group wins London court battle over brand reputation". Reuters. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
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