Avanti begins West Coast rail services to Glasgow
● New group takes over from the long-running Virgin franchise
Avanti West Coast officially takes over the operation of long-distance train services on the West Coast Main Line today, with a train bearing the franchise’s new branding arriving at Glasgow Central Station to mark the occasion, the final stop on its 400-mile journey from London’s Euston Station.
Avanti has taken over from Virgin Trains on the West Coast Main Line.
The new operator’s parent company is a partnership between Aberdeen-based transport firm Firstgroup and Italian firm Trenitalia.
It has pledged to deliver a range of passenger enhancements, including 263 more weekly services by 2022 when 23 new Hitachi-built trains begin entering service to replace the Voyagers.
The existing fleet of Pendolino trains will be refurbished with 25,000 new seats, more reliable wifi and improved catering.
Passengers will be able to claim compensation for delays of 15 minutes, compared with the previous criteria of 30 minutes.
Avanti West Coast also plans to simplify fares and ticketing, refresh station waiting rooms, boost accessibility and offer more car parking spaces.
In addition to running mainline services, the partnership between Firstgroup and Trenitalia is due to operate initial HS2 services, if the high speed rail project goes ahead.
First Rail operates three other UK rail franchises – Great Western Railway, South Western
Railway and Transpennine Express – while Trenitalia also runs trains on the c2c line between east London and Shoeburyness in Essex.
The launch of Avanti West Coast marks the end of Virgin Trains, which was the UK’S longest-running rail franchise.
The partnership between Virgin Group and Stagecoach began operating services on the west coast in March 1997, but its bid to continue running trains on the line was disqualified by the Department for Transport in a row over pension liabilities.
Steve Montgomery, managing director of Firstgroup train division First Rail said: “We’re delighted to start serving the customers who take 40 million journeys every year on the west coast. We’ll bring families, friends, businesses and communities in Glasgow and Scotland closer together with new trains and new destinations. We’re excited to get our plans underway and take services to the next level.”
Orazio Iacono, managing director of Trenitalia, said: “We’re honoured to begin operating intercity services on the West Coast Main Line, one of the busiest railways in Europe, that will bring a host of improvements for the millions of people who use it every year.
“Trenitalia will also be using its skills to help design and manage high speed rail services from North to South in the UK over the next few years.”