Branson pockets £24m from shambolic rail firm
VIRGIN owner Sir Richard Branson is in line for a £24million payout from his company’s under fire West Coast rail service.
Sir Richard owns 51 per cent of the route between Glasgow and London Euston, meaning he will receive a share of a £47million dividend. The rest goes to co-owner Stagecoach.
The line generated profits of £66.8million in the year to March despite customer anger at poor service and cramped carriages.
Figures from the Office of Road and Rail show Virgin’s East and West Coast franchises generate more complaints that any rivals.
Passengers have criticised the company for its ‘Gestapo-like’ ticketing policy. Campaigners say travellers are forced to pay huge sums for a simple mistake when they have accidentally paid the wrong fare – something many blame on Virgin’s complicated pricing structure. The operator has also been criticised for expensive fares, with a standard single ‘anytime’ ticket for the four-and-a-half-hour journey from London to Glasgow priced on its website last night at £182.50.
Transport consultant Robert Flello, a former member of the Commons transport committee, said passengers would be ‘sickened’ by the payout for Sir Richard, 67, who is worth an estimated £4.9billion.
Mr Flello regularly travels on the West Coast mainline from his home in Stoke- on-Trent to London. He described the fares, which can cost more than £100, as ‘pretty poor value’.
He said: ‘Branson built his empire by offering great customer service. Perhaps he should remember that when he is counting his £50 notes.
‘As a Virgin customer myself, I know many people will be sickened to think he is getting so much cash while we are getting such poor value for money.’ Mr Flello said standard return fares between Stoke and Euston cost ‘between £60 and £70’ even if bought weeks in advance.
Watchdog Transport Focus has raised concerns that Virgin’s hardline approach on ticket terms and conditions had resulted in a rise in the number of appeals against the rail firm in recent months.
The problems have been compounded by poor quality responses from the Virgin customer services team, Transport Focus said. Earlier this year Virgin promised to hire 25 more staff to handle passenger complaints on its West Coast franchise.
Virgin did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.