The Final Whistle - No Dirty Dancing now....
I couldn't let today pass without a bonus "Timewatch" photo from 2011 featuring a Virgin Pendolino slowing to a brief halt at Macclesfield Station after an approx 1 hour 45 trip en route from London Euston to Manchester. Yesterday (7th December 2019) saw Virgin's final service on Britain's WCML (West Coast Main Line) and as of today the new franchise commenced operated by Avanti West Coast.
Not everyone will agree but from my fairly extensive rail passenger travels, Virgin Trains were Britain's best Train Operating Company (TOC) for 22 years by a country mile. I'll concentrate on the Manchester - London service...
* Three services per hour for much of the day
* Fast services...around 2 hours.
* Reasonable comfort.
* Quirky and efficient staff.
* A decent reliability, sometimes thwarted by Network Rail workings rather than any failing of their own. You often arrived a few minutes early in London.
* Cheap tickets, so long as you could book in advance. I often got tickets in the £10 - £20 range.
* Their early introduction of automatic delay-repay.
* ....and who could forget the 'talking toilets' !
I'll even add that on several occasions their internet booking system even allowed my purchase of First Class tickets at a cheaper price than Standard Class, giving access to their terminus lounges, free newspaper, food and drinks on board. Result! I'll never forget a mid-evening trip back up north in First Class. The chap reminded me that he was only allowed to serve me seven free alcoholic beverages per trip. Did I want to be carried off the train my destination? No!
The new franchise have a hard act to follow.
The Final Whistle - No Dirty Dancing now....
I couldn't let today pass without a bonus "Timewatch" photo from 2011 featuring a Virgin Pendolino slowing to a brief halt at Macclesfield Station after an approx 1 hour 45 trip en route from London Euston to Manchester. Yesterday (7th December 2019) saw Virgin's final service on Britain's WCML (West Coast Main Line) and as of today the new franchise commenced operated by Avanti West Coast.
Not everyone will agree but from my fairly extensive rail passenger travels, Virgin Trains were Britain's best Train Operating Company (TOC) for 22 years by a country mile. I'll concentrate on the Manchester - London service...
* Three services per hour for much of the day
* Fast services...around 2 hours.
* Reasonable comfort.
* Quirky and efficient staff.
* A decent reliability, sometimes thwarted by Network Rail workings rather than any failing of their own. You often arrived a few minutes early in London.
* Cheap tickets, so long as you could book in advance. I often got tickets in the £10 - £20 range.
* Their early introduction of automatic delay-repay.
* ....and who could forget the 'talking toilets' !
I'll even add that on several occasions their internet booking system even allowed my purchase of First Class tickets at a cheaper price than Standard Class, giving access to their terminus lounges, free newspaper, food and drinks on board. Result! I'll never forget a mid-evening trip back up north in First Class. The chap reminded me that he was only allowed to serve me seven free alcoholic beverages per trip. Did I want to be carried off the train my destination? No!
The new franchise have a hard act to follow.