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Post by timelesstable on Nov 27, 2014 8:07:53 GMT 1
Breaking News New Operator is a Joint bid by Stagecoach (Majority) and Virgin (10%) and no French in sight More trains and new Hitachi Trains announced. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30222458 |
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Post by timelesstable on Nov 27, 2014 8:41:23 GMT 1
The East Coast franchise has been in public hands since 2009
A consortium made up of Stagecoach and Virgin has won the franchise to run the East Coast mainline rail route.
The firms promised to invest £140m in the route over eight years, and will pay the government £3.3bn for the contract.
The franchise, which covers the route between London and Edinburgh, has been publicly run since 2009.
The RMT union called the return of the franchise to the private sector "a national disgrace".
Other companies bidding to win the franchise included FirstGroup and a joint venture between Eurostar and French firm Keolis.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "This is a fantastic deal for passengers and for staff on this vital route. It gives passengers more seats, more services and new trains.
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Post by gooderson1 on Nov 27, 2014 15:19:40 GMT 1
Stagecoach press release advises that the name of the company to run the franchise is Inter City Railways(ICR). 90% of the share capital of ICR is held by Stagecoach and 10% by Virgin according to the release.
However BBC Look North at 1330 today was stating that the livery will be that of Virgin Trains.
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Post by davopazza on Nov 29, 2014 19:43:47 GMT 1
Stagecoach press release advises that the name of the company to run the franchise is Inter City Railways(ICR). 90% of the share capital of ICR is held by Stagecoach and 10% by Virgin according to the release. However BBC Look North at 1330 today was stating that the livery will be that of Virgin Trains. The companies brand name is due to be Virgin Trains East Coast aswell. |
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Post by timelesstable on Mar 1, 2015 8:49:34 GMT 1
The East Coast rail route between London and Scotland has returned to private hands after more than five years in the public sector. Services on the line have been operated by a Department for Transport (DfT) controlled company since November 2009. From Sunday they are being run jointly by Virgin and Stagecoach, under the name Virgin Trains East Coast. The DfT said the new franchise would mean "the best deal for passengers", but unions criticised the move. When franchise holder National Express pulled out in November 2009, the then-Labour government took over the running of the line. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31680914 |
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Post by gooderson1 on Mar 1, 2015 9:47:50 GMT 1
Inter City Railways(the company that runs the East Coast Line from today) is 90% owned by Stagecoach with the other 10% owned by Virgin(verified from the Stagecoach press releases last year). Given that Stagecoach have a majority shareholding and have variations of corporate livery on East Midland and South West Trains why does a company with the majority stake let the trains use the name and livery of the minor stakeholder. I fail to understand the logic.
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Post by davopazza on Mar 1, 2015 10:40:11 GMT 1
Inter City Railways(the company that runs the East Coast Line from today) is 90% owned by Stagecoach with the other 10% owned by Virgin(verified from the Stagecoach press releases last year). Given that Stagecoach have a majority shareholding and have variations of corporate livery on East Midland and South West Trains why does a company with the majority stake let the trains use the name and livery of the minor stakeholder. I fail to understand the logic. I would guess that by using the Virgin brand, they give the impression that the company is a Virgin company which is known worldwide and perhaps a trusted brand and all of the benefits that go along with it. I would guess there would be simularities to the west coast business and the travelling public won't realise that it is actually Stagecoach that is the majority share holder. It's all about public perception and building confidence from the outset through a very recognisable brand. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2015 10:45:17 GMT 1
Inter City Railways(the company that runs the East Coast Line from today) is 90% owned by Stagecoach with the other 10% owned by Virgin(verified from the Stagecoach press releases last year). Given that Stagecoach have a majority shareholding and have variations of corporate livery on East Midland and South West Trains why does a company with the majority stake let the trains use the name and livery of the minor stakeholder. I fail to understand the logic. The reason they use the 'Virgin' brand is down to public perception. The Virgin brand is seen as positive and is well regarded. (UPC recently bought Virgin Media but currently have no plans to rename it for similar reasons, I guess.) Stagecoach, rightly or wrongly is associated mainly with its bus operations. They've been careful with East Midlands Trains and South West Trains to never put 'Stagecoach' in the name there either. |
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Post by gooderson1 on Mar 1, 2015 11:01:05 GMT 1
If that is the case then just call it "East Coast Trains" with a variation of the corporate Stagecoach livery. I don't think there is any mention of Stagecoach on the external area of the other two TOC's. Given the above comments about Stagecoach being associated with bus operations then perhaps First should remove all mention to that company from TPE trains given their recent problems operating buses in parts of the UK(or am I opening up a can of worms)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2015 11:13:34 GMT 1
The thing is, the 'First' brand isn't just associated with bus operations.
They have always pushed the 'First' tag onto every operation they have owned ('Hull Trains' -> 'First Hull Trains' being a prime example.)
Stagecoach haven't chosen this path.
That's how it is in the free(ish) market. It is their choice to make.
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Post by gooderson1 on Mar 1, 2015 13:24:07 GMT 1
It will be interesting to see what answer I get when I ask the question of branding East Coast Trains at the shareholders AGM of Stagecoach when it is held in Perth in late August.
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Post by timelesstable on Mar 1, 2015 20:44:35 GMT 1
The big red Virgin branding was evident on a London bound train leaving Wakefield early afternoon
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Post by biroguy on Mar 1, 2015 22:50:03 GMT 1
Large red Virgin branding just seen on at York on a class 91 and two HST`s.
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Post by timelesstable on Mar 2, 2015 7:45:18 GMT 1
According to the BBC the first train was in fact a bus (probably a coach) I wonder if Stagecoach were involved.....
On a positive note one of the headlines being quoted today was the return of a direct service to London for both Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
No doubt one of our train experts can remind us when these services last ran.................
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Post by Burnside on Mar 2, 2015 17:29:06 GMT 1
Last direct service between Huddersfield and London was in the 1960's and i believe they ran via Penistone and Sheffield to reach the ECML.
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Post by timelesstable on Mar 2, 2015 19:28:37 GMT 1
Last direct service between Huddersfield and London was in the 1960's and i believe they ran via Penistone and Sheffield to reach the ECML. These would have been steam hauled back then and using Sheffield Victoria on the old Penistone line via Deepcar and Wadsley Bridge at the northern edge of Sheffield. |
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Post by driver6540 on Mar 2, 2015 21:01:16 GMT 1
Well for me, East Coast Trains have been brilliant since being back in "our" ownership since 2009. Every time I've used them, they've been far superior to previous incumbents like GNER etc.(Maybe I've just been lucky), But in terms of punctuality, customer service and the other details that matter, I've found them beyond reproach. I hope this Virgin/Stagecoach consortium hit the ground running and continue the improvements ECT have made to these services. They have a hard act to follow.
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Post by timelesstable on Mar 10, 2015 20:30:49 GMT 1
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Post by davopazza on Mar 10, 2015 21:27:30 GMT 1
It' sounds very much like alliance rail holdings GNER application for an edinborough to London service although if I am right in saying, is planned to be hourly. |
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Post by stevieinselby on Mar 10, 2015 22:49:47 GMT 1
It looks like posturing to me ... I can't see any way that First would have permission granted to run London—Edinburgh services under Open Access. Apart from adding direct trains between Stevenage and Morpeth/Edinburgh, it doesn't allow any new journey opportunities, as there are direct trains already between every other pair of stations under the proposal, and that is not a significant enough part of the plan to decide in its favour.
Every other Open Access operator has provided significant new journeys that were not possible on direct trains before (or in the case of Hull Trains, a major increase from the one direct train that there was already), and even then there were lots of negotiations needed around ensuring that they were not going to abstract passengers from existing franchise services. This proposal is quite clearly intending to abstract a large proportion of its passengers from existing Virgin East Coast and Arriva XCountry services, and so will be completely inadmissible.
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Post by deerfold on Mar 11, 2015 14:49:18 GMT 1
The ITT for the East Coast which Virgin won states:
Table 5.3. Access Rights Contingency Plan assumptions
In developing the Access Rights Contingency Plan, Bidders should assume that:
* An open access operator is granted paths for 1 train per hour between 0700 and 1959 Mondays to Saturdays (13 trains per day in each direction), and between 0900 and 1959 on Sundays (11 trains per day in each direction) between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, with calls at York and Newcastle only;
* The paths are timed for conventional (non-tilting) 125mph rolling stock; and
* The service commences in May 2020.
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Post by whereami on Mar 12, 2015 13:41:52 GMT 1
According to the BBC the first train was in fact a bus (probably a coach) I wonder if Stagecoach were involved..... On a positive note one of the headlines being quoted today was the return of a direct service to London for both Huddersfield and Dewsbury. No doubt one of our train experts can remind us when these services last ran................. Alliance Rail, were proposing to from Leeds to London down the West Coast Main Line via Dewsbury & Huddersfield, funny how Virgin East Coast, are saying they'll put these two places on their routes in the next few years. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2015 19:55:32 GMT 1
According to the BBC the first train was in fact a bus (probably a coach) I wonder if Stagecoach were involved..... On a positive note one of the headlines being quoted today was the return of a direct service to London for both Huddersfield and Dewsbury. No doubt one of our train experts can remind us when these services last ran................. Alliance Rail, were proposing to from Leeds to London down the West Coast Main Line via Dewsbury & Huddersfield, funny how Virgin East Coast, are saying they'll put these two places on their routes in the next few years. I think it is just what a company would propose to do to prevent anyone else trying it. VTEC have promised to pay a lot to the Exchequer, so stopping any chance of an open access operator getting a toe hold would seem sensible. |
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Post by resolution on Mar 22, 2015 16:45:38 GMT 1
Last direct service between Huddersfield and London was in the 1960's and i believe they ran via Penistone and Sheffield to reach the ECML. The last through service between Huddersfield and London were the through coaches attached to Leeds - Kings Cross trains which ran until locomotives were replaced by HSTs in around 1978. The train via Penistone and Sheffield last ran in 1960 and from Sheffield went to Marylebone via the now-closed Great Central main line. After that through coaches ran to Sheffield Midland and St Pancras for a couple of years (at different times via the Crigglestone curve and Barnsley or via the Penistone line) before the solution of attaching the through coaches to a Kings Cross train at Wakefield Westgate was adopted in (I think) 1963. This was steam-hauled until 1967 and then diesel-hauled; it ran from Bradford and reversed at both Huddersfield and Wakefield Kirkgate! For a time in the 1970s the carriages were detached from the northbound train at Doncaster and ran separately which meant they could run into Kirkgate direct and obviate one of the reversals. |
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Post by timelesstable on Nov 24, 2015 17:22:53 GMT 1
Virgin Trains is to spend £21m refurbishing its fleet of 45 trains which run on the east coast mainline between London and Edinburgh. The company said all 401 carriages used on the route would be overhauled with more than 20,000 seats replaced and new carpets and curtains fitted. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34910891The work will be carried out at depots in London and Edinburgh. An additional £16m is also being spent on fitting 35 new engines to Virgin's diesel High Speed Train fleet. David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains on the east coast route, said the investment would benefit customers ahead of the introduction of the new Super Express Trains as part of the Government's InterCity Express programme in 2018. The first refurbished train will enter service on 14 December, Mr Horne said. Virgin Trains East Coast, which is owned by the Virgin and Stagecoach Groups, was awarded the franchise to run the east coast route in 2014 and is committed to investing £140m over eight years. |
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