Is Virgin Trains taken over by Avanti?

On 8 December 2019, Avanti West Coast took over operations from the prior operating company Virgin Trains, which had run the franchise since 1997.



Yes, the Avanti West Coast franchise officially took over the operation of the InterCity West Coast line from Virgin Trains on December 8, 2019. This marked the end of an era, as Virgin had operated the route for 22 years. Avanti West Coast is a partnership between the UK-based FirstGroup and the Italian national operator Trenitalia. While the sleek "Pendolino" and "Voyager" trains were repainted from the iconic Virgin red to a new forest green and white livery, the core service connecting London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow remains the same. The transition was part of a broader government shift toward the "West Coast Partnership," which also involves preparing for the arrival of the HS2 high-speed rail line in the future.

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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.

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Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership.

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Virgin Trains no more: Brightline severs ties with Richard Branson empire. Less than two years after Brightline announced a “strategic partnership” with Virgin Group and rebranded its trains as Virgin Trains USA, the rail service now says its parent company has scrapped the agreement.

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Avanti West Coast has been unveiled as the name of the operator replacing Virgin Trains. Aberdeen-based transport company FirstGroup and Italian firm Trenitalia announced the brand name for their partnership which will run services on the west coast route from December 8.

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But Avanti is the most prominent and remains, even in its stripped down schedule, the most unreliable, according to recent data: more than one in five of its remaining trains were more than half an hour late on Friday.

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Avanti West Coast reduced its timetable in August 2022 - citing unofficial strike action from its employees. In that month, cancellations were as high as 25%.

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Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership.

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The LNER route is the primary service from Edinburgh to London. The Avanti service at Edinburgh isn't really there for journeys from Edinburgh to London.

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