Avanti West Coast rebrand

[FrodshamJnct]

Runcorn still has a distinctly Virgin feel to it due to all the red and white. Some bunting and balloons up in the waiting room but feels a bit lame.


*Caption - a photo of the waiting room at Runcorn*

*Caption - a photo of a platform sign displaying ‘Runcorn’ in Avanti branding*

 

[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.

As soon as a new train emerges in the new livery you will get a newly updated list
Thanks

 

[atacama40]

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.

Was told by on-board members that there was only one PR unit right now. Ours was a white finish

 

[sprinterguy]

Was told by on-board members that there was only one PR unit right now. Ours was a white finish

Are you perhaps thinking of the Pendolinos? There's two of those (390155/156) that received full Avanti West Coast livery for the official launch last Monday, while the rest of the fleet carries unbranded white livery (390157 was completed at Widnes yesterday).

Whereas if you were on a white painted Voyager then by the process of elimination there can't be one in Avanti livery, as there's only that one unit in the appropriate white base livery.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Because the Avanti orange is reddish, and the Virgin red has a slight twinge of orange when faded, I'm not sure people will notice.

I'm genuinely surprised they didn't go for red instead of orange and so save repainting cost, though.

 

[atacama40]

Are you perhaps thinking of the Pendolinos? There's two of those (390155/156) that received full Avanti West Coast livery for the official launch last Monday, while the rest of the fleet carries unbranded white livery (390157 was completed at Widnes yesterday).

Whereas if you were on a white painted Voyager then by the process of elimination there can't be one in Avanti livery, as there's only that one unit in the appropriate white base livery.

Blimey you way beyond me ... was one we picked up from Birmingham after jumping on/off the wrong one at Wolverhampton. That makes it from Manchester if I understood from the guy on board correctly. I was just chatting with him and he said there was only one. i didn't clarify which model train. .... it had a 2 + 1 seat layout .... and a better than recent times breakfast!

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

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.

I'm a bit surprised they aren't going to do anything to the Voyager fleet. Delivery of the first bi-mode is over two years away.

 

[sprinterguy]

Blimey you way beyond me ... was one we picked up from Birmingham after jumping on/off the wrong one at Wolverhampton. That makes it from Manchester if I understood from the guy on board correctly. I was just chatting with him and he said there was only one. i didn't clarify which model train. .... it had a 2 + 1 seat layout .... and a better than recent times breakfast!

There's just one Avanti West Coast train a day from north of Birmingham that starts at Manchester - It forms the 08:10 departure from Birmingham New Street to London Euston. With breakfast on board referenced it could have been that one, which is definitely Pendolino operated. The rest that pass through Wolverhampton operate the service from Edinburgh/Glasgow. As Andrew*Debbie was only querying about the Voyager fleet I thought it best to try and clarify.

I'm a bit surprised they aren't going to do anything to the Voyager fleet. Delivery of the first bi-mode is over two years away.

I can't speak with any sort of authority, but it struck me as odd that Virgin had one unit repainted at Ilford, and then just stopped. Avanti's policy on the Voyager fleet and agreement with Bombardier may be different, but in all the rumour and speculation surrounding the new branding I've heard no suggestions of the Voyager repaint program being restarted.

 

[james_the_xv]

I can't speak with any sort of authority, but it struck me as odd that Virgin had one unit repainted at Ilford, and then just stopped. Avanti's policy on the Voyager fleet and agreement with Bombardier may be different, but in all the rumour and speculation surrounding the new branding I've heard no suggestions of the Voyager repaint program being restarted.

I'm guessing worst case scenario they slap a triangle where the Virgin logo used to be and be done with it?

 

[Energy]

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...

Just heard one, they aren't interesting

 

[xc170]

Just heard one, they aren't interesting

They haven't put much effort into them, have they...

 

[Energy]

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.

Nope, Only 1 voyager is in white.

 

[Merle Haggard]

On the subject of Voyager; travelled in 60468 today and auto announcements said 'Welcome on board this train' and there were no antimacassars.
Perhaps this suggests that Avanti are trying to distance themselves slightly from Voyagers.

There was also a (slightly threadbare sounding) manual announcement at New St (it was an up Glasgow) that 'LNr/WM tickets could only used on Avanti services in cases of disruption when ticket acceptance had already been agreed with Avanti control', so presumably they're not that distant.

 

[RealTrains07]

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

Maybe for you but for isolated stations, their simply isnt the room to do that sort of job

 

[Goldfish62]

On the subject of Voyager; travelled in 60468 today and auto announcements said 'Welcome on board this train' and there were no antimacassars.
Perhaps this suggests that Avanti are trying to distance themselves slightly from Voyagers.

There was also a (slightly threadbare sounding) manual announcement at New St (it was an up Glasgow) that 'LNr/WM tickets could only used on Avanti services in cases of disruption when ticket acceptance had already been agreed with Avanti control', so presumably they're not that distant.

I didn't actually know that the Voyagers had auto announcements. Have they recently been fitted?

 

[Steddenm]

I didn't actually know that the Voyagers had auto announcements. Have they recently been fitted?

No they had them from build. The 220 and 221s that CrossCountry have still say "welcome aboard this virgin trains service to..." XC dont use the auto announcer though.

 

[I13]

No one tell Avanti, but 390115 still has a Virgin shield on its front..

 

[aleandrail]

I didn't actually know that the Voyagers had auto announcements. Have they recently been fitted?

The original Avanti antimacassars were to small, the replacements are not being fitted

 

[aleandrail]

Nope, Only 1 voyager is in white.

The Voyagers were due to have a refurb early in the new year but this has been put back to later in the year

 

[aleandrail]

The original Avanti antimacassars were to small, the replacements are not being fitted

sorry that should be are NOW being fitted.

 

[Gallagher 96]

Nope, Only 1 voyager is in white.

After emailing them the other day,Russell at AWC told me the 221s will get a 'revised' livery,where the Virgin red will be covered over with vinyl(blue) and the logos applied to the Voyagers. 221101 should be the 1st one to be done for the companies launch in North Wales at Wrexham General station today. So the answer is YES ,but not as per the 390s.

 

[thecrofter]

After emailing them the other day,Russell at AWC told me the 221s will get a 'revised' livery,where the Virgin red will be covered over with vinyl(blue) and the logos applied to the Voyagers. 221101 should be the 1st one to be done for the companies launch in North Wales at Wrexham General station today. So the answer is YES ,but not as per the 390s.

Doesn't look very inspiring if this is the final version as seen on 5Z21 today

 

[Energy]

what is with the what looks to be yellow tape on the front?

 

[thecrofter]

what is with the what looks to be yellow tape on the front?

Sorry about the quality of the pic but the original was too large to post on here. It was covering some Avanti lettering which I guess they didn't want the public to see before it got to Wrexham

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Avanti West Coast
Updated Livery List


221101 Neutral white, Avanti West Coast logo

221102 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: John Cabot

221103 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Christopher Columbus

221104 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Sir John Franklin

221105 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: William Baffin

221106 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Willem Barents

221107 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Sir Marten Frobisher

221108 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Sir Ernest Shackleton

221109 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Marco Polo

221110 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: James Cook

221111 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Roald Amundsen

221112 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Ferdinand Magellan

221113 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Sir Walter Raleigh

221114 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Royal Airforce Centenary: 1918-2018

221115 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Polmadie Depot

221116 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: City of Bangor/Dinas Bangor

221117 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: The Wrekin Giant

221118 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded

221142 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Bombardier Voyager

221143 Virgin Challenger Red/Silver, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, metal: Auguste Pickard

390001 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Bee Together

390002 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Stephen Sutton

390005 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Wolverhampton

390006 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Rethink Mental Illness

390008 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Charles Rennie Mackintosh

390009 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Treaty of Union

390010 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
No Window Bands
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Cumbrian Spirit

390011 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Lichfield

390012 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390013 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390016 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390020 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390039 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
No Window Bands
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Lady Godiva

390040 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390042 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390043 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390044 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390045 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390046 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390047 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390049 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390050 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
No Window Bands

390103 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390104 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Alstom Pendolino

390107 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390114 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Manchester

390115 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Crewe - All Change

390117 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Blue Peter

390118 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390119 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Unknown Soldier

390121 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390122 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Penny the Pendolino

390123 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390124 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390125 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390126 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390127 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390128 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
No Window Bands
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Preston

390129 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Stoke-on-Trent

390130 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
No Window Bands
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Edinburgh

390131 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Liverpool

390132 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Birmingham

390134 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Carlisle

390135 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Lancaster

390136 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Coventry

390137 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390138 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of London

390141 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: City of Chester

390148 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Flying Scouseman

390151 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390152 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390153 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390154 Neutral white, blank, unbranded

390155 Avanti West Coast Turquoise

390156 Avanti West Coast Turquoise
Cabside Avanti nameplate, vinyl: Pride and Prosperity

390157 Neutral white, blank, unbranded
Central Virgin nameplate, vinyl: Chad Varah


Hi, I’m TT-ONR-NRN and I monitor the rebranding of Avanti West Coast’s fleet. I try to post updates regularly, if you become aware of any changes please do post and let us know!

 

[matt1386]

View from the other end at Wrexham launch event

 

[RealTrains07]

View attachment 71753

View from the other end at Wrexham launch event

Having just the white makes it look like the cab is sticking out

is this the plan for the remaining voyagers then? I wondered if they would do something like this to them

 

[pt_mad]

Having just the white makes it look like the cab is sticking out

is this the plan for the remaining voyagers then? I wondered if they would do something like this to them

One would think to achieve that look on the whole fleet, they'd have to repaint them first. Given that in itself could take say (18 months?) perhaps it'd be more likely they'd just vinyl over the existing red on the 'grey' units, as a poster above seemed to suggest.
That would be the quickest option and not one where they'd be vinyling white painted units presumably up until very close to them going out of service with the franchise.

 

[Bletchleyite]

One would think to achieve that look on the whole fleet, they'd have to repaint them first. Given that in itself could take say (18 months?) perhaps it'd be more likely they'd just vinyl over the existing red on the 'grey' units, as a poster above seemed to suggest.
That would be the quickest option and not one where they'd be vinyling white painted units presumably up until very close to them going out of service with the franchise.

Given that the only obvious red is on the ends (the roof is also red but it's usually not visible as such as it's caked in filth) arguably just putting the greeny-blue cab ends on in vinyl would do the job. Isn't that basically what XC did on a permanent basis with their purple?

 

[BucksBones]

Given that the only obvious red is on the ends (the roof is also red but it's usually not visible as such as it's caked in filth) arguably just putting the greeny-blue cab ends on in vinyl would do the job. Isn't that basically what XC did on a permanent basis with their purple?

Yes it is. I hope they do put the greeny-blue vinyl on though, that looks pretty rubbish as it is.