West Coast Mainline

[Apocalypse Now]

As a user I am disappointed Virgin has lost the franchise - think the service under their tenure has improved beyond recognition -I even came to enjoy the Olde English on offer in First Class.

I did have the misfortune to listen to Bob Crowe this morning on BBC news. The new franchise has literally been announced minutes earlier, FirstGroup press statement talked about investment in front line staff. Within 30 seconds o being on air this dinosaur was talking about "industrial action". How the hell do people like this fool ever get to be in such a position?

 

[Ettingshall Wolf]

(ran out of time to finish my reply and cant delete my post on tapatalk. will post in the morning!)

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[RJs Tankard]

Like you, I'm also disappointed that Virgin have missed out.

Under BR, services were always delayed or cancelled, the trains were 30+ years old and very unreliable. Stations were dirty and looking neglected, and journeys took a lot longer than they do now.

Since Virgin took over, there are rarely delays, rarely any cancellations, journey times are quicker. Trains are modern, clean and reliable. Stations look decent again - and despite what people say about train fares, advance tickets are very good value for money.

I can get an advance return from Coventry to Euston for between around £18-£24 (depends how early I book it). Not only that, but the journey takes exactly an hour. If I went in my car, it would cost £30 in fuel, take around 2 hours to get there - plus congestion charges and parking. Train is a no brainer for me.

First Group have a reputation for poor service and expensive tickets. There are also concerns that this bid iis unrealistic and no do-able - so experts are suggesting they'll either walk away from the deal early, or reduce services, cut staff pay, and hike up fairs to cover the £13b.

Branson had a fair bid and has proven to offer a good service. As always though, the governent have just seen the ££££s and awarded the bid solely on that.

 

[Ettingshall Wolf]

I've got to say, my first thought when I heard the news yesterday morning was 'good!'. I use the West Coast line on a semi-regular basis for work, travelling up to Edinburgh a couple of times a month, and sometimes Manchester and London as well. It annoys me that they use Voyager trains to Edinburgh as there is never enough seating during the week, and the train is often overloaded. Yes, I book a seat in advance when I can (although my trips are often short notice), but it seems the reservation system on that particular route only works about 50/50. I also find the seating on Virgin trains small and unconformable compared with trains that are ran by Chiltern of the First Group. Speed isn't everything and 5 years ago when I was travelling to London every week I would prefer to go down the Chiltern line and save money and be more comfortable at the expense of the extra 30 minutes the journey would take.

Its hard for me to compare the service now to pre-Virgin because I was 20 when they took over the West Coast and I rarely caught trains before then that were not local journeys. I accept that trains are now quicker and delays are rarer (although certainly the latter was not the case 8-10 years ago when I lived in Manchester), but is that thanks to Virgin or just a progression of train travel as a whole and track improvements over 15 years?

 

[derbyrameater]

Considering the piratised rail transport gets more in public subsidy now than when it was the peoples BR it should be a hell of a lot better.

Nice earner for Branson and his ilk.