All Line Rover
Established Member
- Joined
- 17 Feb 2011
- Messages
- 5,222
I am pleased to see, following a trial run earlier this summer on the WCML (West Coast Main Line) which I highlighted here*, that Virgin Trains has decided to remove Friday afternoon / evening peak restrictions "for good": https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/tickets/friday-off-peak.
This is welcome news. To have, for years, inflicted customers with overcrowding on Friday evenings because of punitive peak restrictions and fares, and then decide that this wasn't commercially necessary after all, might not reflect well on Virgin and Stagecoach, the joint operators of Virgin Trains. On the other hand, it could be that Virgin has seen a steep decline in Friday afternoon / evening business travel in recent years with the increasing popularity of flexible working (Friday seeming to be the most popular day to work from home), so has decided to re-position Friday afternoon / evening travel to London residents looking for a weekend trip to northern UK destinations. Virgin's marketing strongly implies that this is the demographic being targeted.
The change hasn't filtered through to the restriction codes for all ticket types (such as many off-peak tickets to/from Milton Keynes), but I expect Virgin Trains' staff have been instructed to show discretion to passengers holding such tickets.
*https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...rnoons-between-20-jul-and-31-aug-2018.167232/
This is welcome news. To have, for years, inflicted customers with overcrowding on Friday evenings because of punitive peak restrictions and fares, and then decide that this wasn't commercially necessary after all, might not reflect well on Virgin and Stagecoach, the joint operators of Virgin Trains. On the other hand, it could be that Virgin has seen a steep decline in Friday afternoon / evening business travel in recent years with the increasing popularity of flexible working (Friday seeming to be the most popular day to work from home), so has decided to re-position Friday afternoon / evening travel to London residents looking for a weekend trip to northern UK destinations. Virgin's marketing strongly implies that this is the demographic being targeted.
The change hasn't filtered through to the restriction codes for all ticket types (such as many off-peak tickets to/from Milton Keynes), but I expect Virgin Trains' staff have been instructed to show discretion to passengers holding such tickets.
*https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...rnoons-between-20-jul-and-31-aug-2018.167232/
