The Planner
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 15 Apr 2008
- Messages
- 15,965
Dont expect all the trains to Leeds and Edinburgh to drop by that much, it will just be headline trains like with the West Coast.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Virgin / Stagecoach win East Coast
- Thread starter Suraggu
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
You've just watched the competition in action - First and Keolis/Eurostar lost.
Highest premium wins (mostly).
West Coast and East Midlands are rebid in 2016.
Blindtraveler
Established Member
Well heres one very happy basher! Given the recent reports on here of E-Stars manky trains, expensive food and lackluster service I'd been starting to dread them getting it but VT are a company I respect and enjoy using so best of luck to them. I wonder what the refurb of existing trains includes, given the new ones are coming in a few years?
Paul Duck
Member
Interesting to see the Middlesbrough services reversing at Darlington to reach Teesside, not running from Northallerton to Thornaby direct.
mtbox
Member
Heres hoping its a disaster and a massive failure.
DOR runs very well and it is spiteful blind Tory ideology behind this.
DOR runs very well and it is spiteful blind Tory ideology behind this.
Everywhere will get IEP, the entire fleet is being replaced.
It'll be interesting to see what the timings of the extra service are- until IEP it'll be an HST. Current Edinburgh starting/terminating HST services?
Masboroughlad
Established Member
How did the press get it SO wrong?
East Coast currently has 45 trainsets according to Wiki, so which six trains are staying (HSTs or 225s)? I thought the expanded IEP order was to allow all existing trains to be replaced, so is this a Virgin-specific plan?
Similarly, these newly upgraded train interiors appearing over the coming years sound like something the ROSCOs would surely have been planning (and funding) as they seek new homes for the stock post IEP introduction.
Will the rewards scheme likely end on the franchise changeover date, as I've some 2000 odd points to spend...
I like Virgin and Virgin Trains (and always had a favourable impression of South West Trains) and am pleased First and their depressing colour scheme aren't arriving here (beyond TPE, which is the exception), but think it's a shame East Coast's success is being thrown down the drain for the sake of privatisation. I'm suspicious about a nationalised railway, but East Coast have been the most successful operator of the line since privatisation and wish they were continuing indefinitely.
I do wonder if VirginEC might tweak livery (especially to the powercars/DVTs) to introduce a splash of Virgin red without significantly altering the current prescribed scheme?
Blindtraveler
Established Member
Well we always knew this would change with the god awfull IEP.
It's illegal to inform one group of people in advance of others; it's "price sensitive" information. First Group shares down 2% this morning, Stagecoach up 7%.
DynamicSpirit
Established Member
Blimey! You may well dislike the process or the decisions that the Government have made, but surely you don't actually want an important mainline railway to turn into a disaster, do you?
GNER 91128
Member
No more East Coast rewards :cry:
No - this is referring to the mobile app. From the statement by Stagecoach, it looks likes they plan to keep the Foodbar (at least for now) as they refer to offering Nectar points at it.
CockneySparrow
Member
Wouldn't have thought so as it would affect movement on the stock market
PG
Established Member
From the Stagecoach press release it looks like this is what the refub includes - wonder what the other enhancements are?
Stagecoach said:
That's correct, they are not allowed to inform staff in advance of an announcement to the stock market.
The company I work for generally does the announcement simultaneously although it often means I get to hear things from the media first because I've often heard the news before I'll see an email (especially first thing in the morning when these announcements are usually made).
richardio123
Member
DO you they they will use the same website for tickets etc considering its going to be called
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30222458
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30222458
Last edited:
And Go-Ahead have a near monopoly on commuter services to London!
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
This is Richard Branson's announcement: http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/introducing-virgin-trains-east-coast
And his message to East Coast staff:
Although all the imagery is of West Coast, I think it's a fair bet that there'll be a splash of red in the EC colour scheme next year, both trains and staff.
And his message to East Coast staff:
Although all the imagery is of West Coast, I think it's a fair bet that there'll be a splash of red in the EC colour scheme next year, both trains and staff.
Suraggu
Member
From 2015
1x Edinburgh -London extended to start from Stirling using a HST.
1x Newcastle -London extended to start from Sunderland using a HST.
From 2016
4 extra Edinburgh -London services (quick turn rounds won't provide an extra 4 services a day)
1x Edinburgh -London extended to start from Stirling using a HST.
1x Newcastle -London extended to start from Sunderland using a HST.
From 2016
4 extra Edinburgh -London services (quick turn rounds won't provide an extra 4 services a day)
Electrostar
Member
- Joined
- 18 May 2009
- Messages
- 312
Will it be branded Virgin from the outset of will they wait to make improvements and introduce new trains? I remember how badly the Virgin name was tainted upon privatisation with old stock, the WCML upgrade and speed restrictions post-Hatfield that admittedly they couldn't have predicted. I guess the difference here is they are inheriting a good service from East Coast. I hope for Virgin's sake the new trains work out of the box.
No - this is referring to the mobile app. From the statement by Stagecoach, it looks likes they plan to keep the Foodbar (at least for now) as they refer to offering Nectar points at it.
If it works I can see that this would be more popular than fighting your way to the buffet and waiting in a queue of people not being able to see prices until they are asked for their order and taking an age to decide what to have.
PG
Established Member
I see beardy has his own PR out now - http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/introducing-virgin-trains-east-coast - interestingly the date on it is the 26th!!
Assume thats a typo rather then him spilling the beans a day early? Also laughable how the comments have folk raving about getting Pendolinos on the east coast route
Virgin said:
Assume thats a typo rather then him spilling the beans a day early? Also laughable how the comments have folk raving about getting Pendolinos on the east coast route
shinkansen1966
Member
Where did you read that ?
Want to keep the East Coast Rewards programme ?
Use twitter - #keepeastcoastrewards
Last edited:
darloscott
Member
Great to see Middlesbrough & Thornaby included with 6/7 services a day from 2020. A 2 hourly service to Bradford suggests they are indeed after Grand Central... Wonder if they may seek new markets now (like Scarborough mentioned earlier!)
ac6000cw
Established Member
Why is it sad ?
DOR was only ever intended to be a temporary situation anyway, and at least Stagecoach/Virgin is not a subsidiary of a state-owned railway from another country (which I think should be barred from bidding for franchises, but that might not be possible under EU rules).
Good luck to the new operators
- Status