Virgins CrossCountry Trains loses Franchise
Seems that Virgin is plagued with disappointments, first there was the public wrangling over Virgin and Sky TV and now they have lost the right to retain the operation of the CrossCountry rail franchise. I believe any one who has used this service would have got the following…As you may have been aware, Virgin Trains has recently been involved in bidding for the right to retain the operation of the CrossCountry rail franchise. Unfortunately, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that our bid has not been successful.Obviously, we are extremely disappointed at this decision, having achieved so much in the 10 years that Virgin Trains has operated CrossCountry. We have almost doubled the number of passengers using CrossCountry; introduced a complete fleet of new high-speed trains; transformed timetables; promoted rail’s environmental credentials and challenged domestic air markets; and revolutionised passengers’ experience of rail travel and customer service.
Virgin Trains will continue to operate the existing Virgin CrossCountry franchise until 11th November, 2007 when we will hand over to the new operator, Arriva plc. As you would expect, we shall do everything we can to ensure our passengers are unaffected by this change in ownership. Arriva will inherit most of our superb staff, and I’m sure they will continue to provide a safe and reliable operation, with excellent customer service.
The DfTs decision has no effect on Virgin Trains’ other franchise, West Coast, which runs services from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, North Wales and Glasgow. The current Virgin CrossCountry tilting Voyager services between Birmingham, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle and Scotland will transfer to Virgin West Coast on 11th November, along with the traincrews and trains. The current Virgin CrossCountry tilting Voyager services between Manchester and Scotland will cease from 9th December and be replaced by services operated by First Trans Pennine Express.
I would like to thank you for travelling on Virgin’s CrossCountry trains over the last 10 years.
Yours sincerely
Chris Gibb
Managing Director Virgin CrossCountry
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