Virgin Group explores the return of Virgin Trains as an Open Access operator

[ShadowKnight]

There are other potential benefits there too - potentially they could codeshare it with their Virgin Atlantic operation and thus get more custom for that from those flying from Paris etc.

The challenge with code sharing between airlines and railways is the interchange between rail and air.
Virgin Atlantic's main airport Heathrow isn't really rail connected (other than reversing at Paddington or via cross rail).

The HS1 route also does not connect to any major airports other than Paris CDG in France or Amsterdam Schiphol airport in the Netherlands.

Whereas if you were looking to codeshare actually Birmingham international would be the best interchange from virgin plane to virgin train. Otherwise a code share should include a connecting ticket on a partner railway (like Renfe in Spain).

 

[Doomotron]

The challenge with code sharing between airlines and railways is the interchange between rail and air.
Virgin Atlantic's main airport Heathrow isn't really rail connected (other than reversing at Paddington or via cross rail).

The HS1 route also does not connect to any major airports other than Paris CDG in France.

Whereas if you were looking to codeshare actually Birmingham international would be the best interchange from virgin plane to virgin train. Otherwise a code share should include a connecting ticket on a partner railway (like Renfe in Spain).

Birmingham International to Gatwick would be somewhat plausible.

 

[The Ham]

The challenge with code sharing between airlines and railways is the interchange between rail and air.
Virgin Atlantic's main airport Heathrow isn't really rail connected (other than reversing at Paddington or via cross rail).

The HS1 route also does not connect to any major airports other than Paris CDG in France.

Whereas if you were looking to codeshare actually Birmingham international would be the best interchange from virgin plane to virgin train. Otherwise a code share should include a connecting ticket on a partner railway (like Renfe in Spain).

Whilst it's not a current plan, the Western Approach to Heathrow would make direct connections to quite a chunk of the country possible (either direct or with a change at Reading).

Even utilising services on the (also yet to be implemented) Southern Approach, whilst it wouldn't really allow code sharing, you could create a Virgin train service.

This could give Virgin Atlantic passengers a "code sharing" service from Basingstoke, Woking and Guildford. There's even the possibility of them getting on board perks, this could include coffee and a snack, reserved coach (which might only be closest to the exit rather than a typical first class offering), luggage check-in (on the train would allow people from any station to use it and wouldn't require a dedicated space at a station, however at station could be seen as a more premium service).

There would be quite a few people who would pay (say) £20 for their "flight" to start at a station much closer to them, not least as it would save then far more than that in taxi costs. That's before you consider the removal of the stress of traffic delays impacting your ability to get to your flight (assuming that once at a station before a certain departure time that then means you have the same protections as it's you were undertaking a connecting flight).

 

[weeklycommuter]

I guess the volume varies over time, but at the quieter times opposite applies, still part of the job for which they get paid, and still getting paid when there are negligible applications must be an opposing upside.

No, there is a normal day job that the team has to deal with, this is on top. It still doesn't increase the resource significantly if the managers were added.

What follows is the simple version that I hope is easily understood. In reality it is much more complex and nuanced.
There is usually a steady stream of applications - mostly renewing existing rights (often with a few variations), managed by teams in each region with an established and well understood process to follow. Plus a trickle of new rights for new services from established and open access operators. The latter twke much more time to process because they have to be assessed against a whole range of criteria, including whether they can be timetsbled (more often than not - not) and how they would affect things like power supply, performance, operational risk, maintenance regimes, etc etc. That is quite specialist work.
What happened in May last year triggered a tsunami of applications with a much higher propotion of new rights than normal. I’m not exagerrating when I say the workload for multiplied by a factor of 5-10 times overnight.
The assessment has to be scrupulously fair. But also has to take into account the potential cumulative effects of all the applications.

It is clear that the decision process has totally seized up because of the very large number of applications for paths. Network Rail has to send representations to the Office of Rail and Road for all of these applications for paths and Network Rail is inevitably taking a very long time to do this because it does not have the staff and was not set up to deal quickly with such a large number of applications for paths. I note that some new applications such as Alliance Rail (Southern) for Marchwood to Southampton Central and London Waterloo have not yet made it on to the Office of Rail and Road website.

It is also clear that there are not enough paths and not enough rolling stock available for all of the open access passenger service applications currently being considered to be approved. The open access passenger service applicants have to some extent recognised this. Alliance Rail have withdrawn their application to operate five trains a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh. The lack of available rolling stock appears to be a key reason for this. Virgin have also cut back their application.

However it really needs each open access passenger service applicant to consider now whether their application has any serious chance of being approved and is still worth continuing with. If one or two more open access passenger service applications, especially for paths on the West Coast Mainline, are withdrawn this would surely enable decisions to be reached more quickly on all the remaining applications for paths.

 

[The Middle]

It is clear that the decision process has totally seized up because of the very large number of applications for paths. Network Rail has to send representations to the Office of Rail and Road for all of these applications for paths and Network Rail is inevitably taking a very long time to do this because it does not have the staff and was not set up to deal quickly with such a large number of applications for paths. I note that some new applications such as Alliance Rail (Southern) for Marchwood to Southampton Central and London Waterloo have not yet made it on to the Office of Rail and Road website. It is also clear that there are not enough paths and not enough rolling stock available for all of the open access passenger service applications currently being considered to be approved. The open access passenger service applicants have to some extent recognised this. Alliance Rail have withdrawn their application to operate five trains a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh. The lack of available rolling stock appears to be a key reason for this. Virgin have also cut back their application. However it really needs each open access passenger service applicant to consider now whether their application has any serious chance of being approved and is still worth continuing with. If one or two more open access passenger service applications, especially for paths on the West Coast Mainline, are withdrawn this would surely enable decisions to be reached more quickly on all the remaining applications for paths.

There is a timeline now for all of Network Rail's representations to the ORR on interacting rights to be made by mid June.