Avanti West Coast rebrand

[brendan999]

i always enjoy the detailed explanation of the wonderful offerings in the shop on the train, I still wonder what it is they do to coffee to make it taste quite so foul

not to mention see it say it sorted

 

[brendan999]

Uglies are good, but watch your fillings.

Generally was able to get some really good advance fares on Virgin, even for First Class, from Glasgow to places like Penrith, Oxenholme and New Street. They'd better keep that going. Not sure about this 'three classes' idea.

its bogus nonsense - still toilet stench is awful, and the fiddle while the stench pervades - imagine if you visited somones house and you got a whiff of something like that - arent they ashamed?

 

[route101]

Possibly the nicest things I've ever put in my mouth, and the only reason I bothered to use Virgin's First Class Lounge at Glasgow...
View attachment 71590
Caption: a photo of a small chocolate containing lumps of biscuit and fruit, next to a white wrapper branded "Uglies".

Sound like a picnic bar.

 

[virgintrain1]

When Virgin lost XC they 'demanded' all their uniforms back at the end of the franchise. So AXC had to roll out a full interim uniform (just plain navy unbranded suits and white shirts) before they decided the brand and colours to use for the actual one.

 

[RealTrains07]

The yellow stripe to denote 1st (and red for buffet) is a UIC (=union of international railways, in French) requirement. Presumably, Virgin, Govia etc. didn't join the UIC (prob. cost money) but the TOCs owned at least partly by the state railways of mainland Europe always seem to use the yellow stripe eg it's adoption by LNwR (Abellio = NS) when LM didn't use it; XC (DB); and now Avanti (FS). It's a pity that modern train design generally has very angled cantrails so the band is hard to see against reflections.
It took me a while to realise how VTEC indicated 1st, but it was probably a better way. Stagecoach EM used dots instead of a band, of course, which is just perverse, IMO.

LM (Govia) also used dots like stagecoach to indicate first class.

its nice to see that avanti kept the window bands and the 1 where their is first class.

 

[RealTrains07]

Probably the existing running board - that's how most of the other Avanti baords have been done. LNWR/WMR has got exactly the same rebrand treatment.

No, they used brand new signs for station signs and running boards for WMR/LNR

if the avanti sign is vinyl on top of the virgin one it will only be temporary until the new signs can be produced with the consistent design look previewed at preston

 

[RealTrains07]

The use of white, then off white/grey seems messy and unnecessary

They didnt need to keep the white at all really, just shows lazy/budget design really, from a distance its looks as if the livery is incomplete as you have mainly white but with a few green/blue patches.

Would be better if their more of the green/blue was more prominent along the train not just focused at the cab ends and a few coach ends

 

[RealTrains07]

Not fully new uniforms just Overcoat, Shell Jacket & Polo Shirt oh and a name badge. Rest is still the same. It'll take up to 18 months at least for a new uniform. Designs have to made and then
negotiatiated with the Unions , Samples then produced, final design formally agreed on then it goes into Production, Delivery & finally gets to be worn by the staff

Dont forget the new lanyards too

 

[Speed43125]

It's a pity Avanti's bright colour is orange - that would look awful on uniforms. They could presumably have kept red, and it'd have worked just as well in the branding?

Orange is great though. They can bring back Easy __ Cabin Crew with it then!

 

[NewSt]

No, they used brand new signs for station signs and running boards for WMR/LNR

if the avanti sign is vinyl on top of the virgin one it will only be temporary until the new signs can be produced with the consistent design look previewed at preston

No, they didn't. They painted the Network WM ones white and then applied vinyls over them.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Orange is great though. They can bring back Easy __ Cabin Crew with it then!

Sleasy's uniforms are grey with orange accenting, same as the aircraft interiors, aren't they? Orange suit jackets would look awful. Though I can see that Sleasy might have done that in the early days.

 

[Speed43125]

Sleasy's uniforms are grey with orange accenting, same as the aircraft interiors, aren't they? Orange suit jackets would look awful. Though I can see that Sleasy might have done that in the early days.

Yeah, Pretty awful, At the time was alright, but would NOT work today.

 

[Grumpy Git]

I hate the fact that you have to guess who is staff depending upon which station you are at.

I also think a lot of the platform staff could smarten up their act a bit. Do Northern ask them to come to work like they have just fallen out of the pub at 2am?

 

[Grumpy Git]

It would help if they had to wear a uniform hat like in the BR days, instead of a motley collection of bobble hats, baseball caps and god knows what else.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I hate the fact that you have to guess who is staff depending upon which station you are at.

This is something the Virgin red did very well. The FirstGroup hi-vis-with-F-in-circle also worked but looked very industrial and nowhere near as polished.

 

[RealTrains07]

No, they didn't. They painted the Network WM ones white and then applied vinyls over them.

At stations like stone that isnt the case.

it isn’t as simple as taking station signs away and repainting them and applying vinyls in less than a day?

 

[NewSt]

it isn’t as simple as taking station signs away and repainting them and applying vinyls in less than a day?

They do it at the actual stations, 1 sign at a time.

 

[Chiltern006]

is there a 390 in the paint shop atm?

 

[sufian123]

is there a 390 in the paint shop atm?

390157 last one to be painted

 

[Goldfish62]

They didnt need to keep the white at all really, just shows lazy/budget design really, from a distance its looks as if the livery is incomplete as you have mainly white but with a few green/blue patches.

Would be better if their more of the green/blue was more prominent along the train not just focused at the cab ends and a few coach ends

Paint looks better than vinyl. Compare GWR's IETs that have been vinyled v painted. I think they've done a good job in keeping the off-white paint finish and enhancing it with vinyled branding. IMHO it loos much better than what Virgin did post-repaint.

 

[Mathew S]

Paint looks better than vinyl. Compare GWR's IETs that have been vinyled v painted. I think they've done a good job in keeping the off-white paint finish and enhancing it with vinyled branding. IMHO it loos much better than what Virgin did post-repaint.

It's not meant to be off-white though. It's supposed to be white. And therein lies the issue. I think the livery looks fantastic, I really do, but white trains really need a full wash every day to keep them looking, well, white. Otherwise, they start to look like they're Northern trains, and nobody wants that

 

[Bletchleyite]

Paint looks better than vinyl. Compare GWR's IETs that have been vinyled v painted. I think they've done a good job in keeping the off-white paint finish and enhancing it with vinyled branding. IMHO it loos much better than what Virgin did post-repaint.

The thing that looks rubbish about the vinyled IETs is the white around the doors which is a half-job. If they'd done the job properly (i.e. vinylled all of it rather than just the cheap option of doing the flat surfaces only) it'd look fine. I actually quite like the matt effect you get that you don't with paint.

 

[Goldfish62]

The thing that looks rubbish about the vinyled IETs is the white around the doors which is a half-job. If they'd done the job properly (i.e. vinylled all of it rather than just the cheap option of doing the flat surfaces only) it'd look fine. I actually quite like the matt effect you get that you don't with paint.

The other effect you get with all-over vinyls is the join between panels becoming more and more visible as the vinyl wears and dirt gets trapped in the edges of the joins. This is becoming increasingly evident on the GWR IETs.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

First trip with Avanti today.
I see the snacks and refreshments are still "delicious".
While the obvious VT branding has gone from Pendolinos and stations, it will be ages before the red disappears from station furniture and structures (like canopy supports, subways etc) - places like Stockport and Preston still shout "Virgin" to the casual passenger.
Voyagers, still in red, hardly look any different.
All fairly punctual today, unlike the other operators in the north.
Platform staff much less visible in their new gear.

 

[atacama40]

Yep my first Friday and Sunday in F and have to say was little changed (no terrible thing) and staff seem upbeat about the change over.

All on time, as ever was. Mind the breakfast was better and fresher than for a while. Not sure much changed but was just better prepared.

Cosmetic changes on tables, uniforms still the same. But as mentioned, staff seem a lot more upbeat than at the time of the end of contract week. Understandable.

 

[LeylandLen]

390157 last one to be painted

Will someone put the re-painted numbers on this thread as they are done? I gather 390156 was first , now 390157 plus one other .
Whenever a 390 had a problem with Virgin , such as a train failure, I always liked to know which one was involved.
I like to know what happens to the 390s, its my little thing

 

[Energy]

Will someone put the re-painted numbers on this thread as they are done? I gather 390156 was first , now 390157 plus one other .
Whenever a 390 had a problem with Virgin , such as a train failure, I always liked to know which one was involved.
I like to know what happens to the 390s, its my little thing

Here is a list from TT-ONR-NRN.
List

 

[xc170]

Not sure if it's been mentioned already but Avanti are currently running radio adverts.

Pretty much as you'd expect, we're Avanti, we're taking over from Virgin, we're making improvements, new trains etc...

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Voyagers, still in red, hardly look any different.

Here is a list from TT-ONR-NRN.

Do any of the Voyagers have the Avanti livery yet? We are traveling BNG-EUS tomorrow and again at the end of the month.

Unbranded white will be a novelty but I was hoping to to see the new colours.

 

[sprinterguy]

Do any of the Voyagers have the Avanti livery yet?

Not yet, and I'm not sure that any will do. There's only one Voyager, 221101, that's received the white base livery and I haven't heard of any plans for the remainder to follow suit.