GrimShady
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Haven't you noticed the lack of the daft advertising?
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Haven't you noticed the lack of the daft advertising?
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You know the Virgin adverts weren’t aimed at railway enthusiasts right??
Personally I found them a breath of fresh air and helped change the narrative from “suppose I will have to get the train” to “let’s get the train”.
greatvoyager
Established Member
I always liked that Virgin has been a bit goofy, it made them stand out from the others.
Good riddance Virgin. No more silly talking toilets and zaney matey matey marketing. Pity all the Virign brands aren't permanently going.
I think it's "Awesome"
Yep that’s right, let’s just have a dull mundane journey instead. This quirky-ness sometimes makes the journey more bearable. Ever travelled Greater Anglia to Norwich, absolutely depressing.
EE Andy b1
Established Member
Yes but some people just don't like to smile, be happy or even talk to others. How depressing.
irish_rail
Established Member
I think a smile from staff etc is a good thing. Its the absolute tackyness and cringeyness that let Virgin down.Yes but some people just don't like to smile, be happy or even talk to others. How depressing.
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
Virgin simply don't deserve the slagging off they are getting on here.
Any slight irritations are far outweighed by the cheerfulness and efficiency of their normal operation.
And that includes the Holyhead Voyagers.
You only have to look back on the service in 1997 for comparison (yes, RT/NR deserve credit too).
Any slight irritations are far outweighed by the cheerfulness and efficiency of their normal operation.
And that includes the Holyhead Voyagers.
You only have to look back on the service in 1997 for comparison (yes, RT/NR deserve credit too).
I hope First Trenitalia keep the standards high.
EE Andy b1
Established Member
I think if staff can make a passenger smile or laugh just for a moment then great they have helped them on that journey, agree Virgin could do tacky and cringeyness very well and all too fluffy for a lot of us frontline staff as well but the majority of staff do a great job, it's the passengers, not all, that need pepping up a little.
I believe passenger numbers have nearly trebled over the years since Virgin took over so they must have done plenty right, long may it continue under another guise.
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Yes but some people just don't like to smile, be happy or even talk to others. How depressing.
And some of those people have real health issues surrounding that so to call them depressing is very harsh and very unsympathetic
GrimShady
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Regardless it's cringeworthy
Whats being a enthusiast got to do with anything?
So you need some tacky advertising to have an enjoyable journey?
Respectfully maybe rail travel isn't for you.
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It’s not cringeworthy though is it, that’s your opinion, it’s tidy, it’s smart, it’s clever, it has humour, the marketing makes me want to travel on those trains, it’s not dreary which seems to me, what you would like, it has a nice comfortable Airline feel, shall we all sit there in rickety old trains scraping along the rails? No.
Respectfully, I don’t think it would be an enjoyable experience sitting near you.
causton
Established Member
Respectfully, maybe it isn't for you!!
VT's marketing isn't for enthusiasts, but for 'normals' who actually quite enjoy it and it definitely has made them a very memorable brand. Just look at the people tweeting VT every day saying they will miss them etc!
GrimShady
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It's also the opinion of many others here and also a good few people I know who use them. Its cheap, tacky, cringeworthy and you're exactly right an airline feel....not what I expect from a major IC operator.
Rickety old trains? Where did you pull that one from?
Wow talk about opinions, so from my dislike of Virgin's marketing I'm now a horrid person. Just as well as I also book the individual seat so I'm not troubled with hipsters or kids.
Again what's being an enthusiast got to do with having the corporate image design for teenagers?
That doesn't make it right, just a whole load of people wrong. I wonder how many people don't actually care?
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greatvoyager
Established Member
Probably won't be finalised until the CrossCountry franchise from October 2020 is sorted, but the general belief is that all of the 221s will move to CrossCountry, at least in the short term.
swt_passenger
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Another discussion here covers just about every possibility:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/ex-virgin-trains-voyagers-where-could-they-go-next.188848/
greatvoyager
Established Member
Also, you could check this thread out.
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/future-of-22x-units.167576/
transmanche
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You might have hit the nail on the head. Age will have a lot to do with whether you like or dislike certain 'brand personalities'.
YouGov research (admittedly using a small sample) shows that the Virgin Trains brand is more popular amongst the so-called 'Millennials' (51% positive), 42% compared with 'Generation X' (42% positive) and Baby Boomers (33% positive). With fewer young people owning cars nowadays (or even knowing how to drive) Virgin worked out that appealing to younger people is the way to win more custom.
GrimShady
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No doubt age plays an a part here but I would argue so does taste.
Saatchi & Saatchi have done good advertising which is clever and smart. Virgin spews out hipster trash.Virgins other brands are bad for it as well. I'd be glad to see the back of them all.
Virgins dead....moving on...
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No doubt age plays an a part here but I would argue so does taste.
Saatchi & Saatchi have done good vertising which is clever and smart. Virgin spews out hipster trash.Virgins other brands are bad for it as well. I'd be glad to see the back of them all.
Virgins dead....moving on...
So that's the real reason. You dislike Virgin and everything associated with it.
GrimShady
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As stated previously I despise stupid, thrashy advertising of which Virgin brands indulge themselves in, Virgin trains being the worst.
MalaiseForever
Member
The visceral amount of hatred in this thread for Virgin is astounding.
Enthusiasts want to travel by train. Normal folk generally don’t. So eye catching advertising that makes train travel look fun and something positive catches their attention.
Thinking about Virgin /Stagecoach's proposed rival open access WCML service (is that still on?) would that fall foul of the same problem that got them excluded from the franchise bid? I mean, if they will not give guarantees about the pensions of the employees on that service, does that not automatically end that proposal?
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I, unfortunately, had my last two trips on Virgin last Monday. MAN - EUS and return. Up on the 07.01, superb staff nice breakfast and a 119 minute journey. Down on the 19.20 where two lovely ladies served about 100 1st class passengers with 2 drinks runs, a food run and a tea/coffee with a smile and a laugh and a joke. TMs on both trips friendly, happy and engaging.
I for one will miss them and am, I am sorry to say, fearful that the great service we have enjoyed for 20 years will not be maintained, and I like the advertising as well. So if you don't like them get a bus.
BTW> I'm 63, so hardley a hipster.
I for one will miss them and am, I am sorry to say, fearful that the great service we have enjoyed for 20 years will not be maintained, and I like the advertising as well. So if you don't like them get a bus.
BTW> I'm 63, so hardley a hipster.
The message on Virgin Red certainly implies that something is still in the works
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LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
The DfT has nothing to do with open access applications, and I think the staff would be new employees (not transferred from another TOC).
The job terms and conditions could be different to the franchised operations.
They can also start up and close down at short notice, as we found out with Wrexham & Shropshire.
You are aware that those very same staff have transferreed to the new operator?
Whether service stays the same remains to be seen but its pretty poor to write them off before theyve got going
RealTrains07
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You dont seem to understand that these days most TOCs aim for an airline experience on their trains? Their is a reason why we have ended up with poor seats with less comfort?
RealTrains07
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I think virgin deserve credit for a unique approach to advertising unlike other TOCs which comes off as more cringey
i hope Avanti use the same unique style of advertising and not bland modern rubbish i have seen elsewhere
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