When did Virgin Trains stop running?

In August 2019 it was announced that the Inter-City West Coast franchise had been awarded to Avanti West Coast, thus confirming that Virgin Trains would cease to operate trains after 7 December 2019. The final Virgin Trains service was the 21:42 service from London Euston to Wolverhampton arriving at 23:45.

Who took over from Virgin Trains?

Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast has taken over from Virgin Trains as the operator running the West Coast Main Line. The new operator’s parent company is a partnership between Aberdeen-based firm FirstGroup and Italy’s Trenitalia.

Will Virgin Trains come back?

Virgin Trains will lose its long-standing West Coast franchise next December. It will be replaced by First Trenitalia, which has been awarded the franchise for this voluminous network until 2031.

Why did Virgin lose train franchise?

Why has this happened? Stagecoach, which owns 49% of Virgin Rail Group Holdings, has had three rail bids blocked by the Department for Transport (DfT), including one to renew the West Coast franchise. This is because none of their offers met pensions standards.

Why did Virgin lose the West Coast franchise?

First Group won the West Coast franchise back in 2012 but then lost out after a legal challenge from Virgin Trains over how the government had awarded it.

Did Avanti replace virgin?

Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that began operating the West Coast Partnership franchise on 8 December 2019. It replaced Virgin Trains, which had operated the InterCity West Coast franchise between 1997 and 2019.

Why has Virgin lost the West Coast franchise?

How much did Richard Branson sell Virgin Trains for?

In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI for £500 million. Branson said that he wept when the sale was completed because the record business had been the very start of the Virgin empire.

Who owns Northern rail?

DfT OLR HoldingsNorthern / Parent organization

Why did Virgin Trains lose the West Coast franchise?

Who owns Avanti West Coast?

First Trenitalia
Avanti West Coast is part of the West Coast Partnership owned by First Trenitalia, a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia.

Do Aviva own Northern Rail?

It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport, after the previous operator Arriva Rail North had its franchise terminated at the end of February 2020.

When did Avanti take over Virgin Trains?

8 December 2019
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that began operating the West Coast Partnership franchise on 8 December 2019. It replaced Virgin Trains, which had operated the InterCity West Coast franchise between 1997 and 2019.