Virgin Trains East Coast

Virgin Trains East Coast

File:Virgin Trains East Coast logo.svg Virgin Trains East Coast logo
Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	East Coast
Founded	March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01)
Fate	Franchise terminated early
Successor	London North Eastern Railway
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Area served	East Coast Main Line (London, Yorkshire, North East, Scotland)
Products	Passenger rail services
Owner	Stagecoach (90%), Virgin Group (10%)

Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC), legally registered as East Coast Main Line Company Limited, was a British train operator responsible for the InterCity East Coast franchise along the East Coast Main Line, linking London with destinations in Yorkshire, the North East, and Scotland. Operations commenced on 1 March 2015, taking over from East Coast through a partnership between Stagecoach (holding 90%) and Virgin Group (holding 10%).

Although initially set to operate until 2023 with an expected return of £3.3 billion in franchise premiums, VTEC’s contract was terminated prematurely due to financial underperformance. In May 2018, the government announced the early conclusion of the franchise, with VTEC ceasing services on 23 June 2018 and operations transferring to the publicly owned London North Eastern Railway.

Despite generating profits, VTEC cited unmet government promises concerning infrastructure enhancements and new rolling stock as reasons for its financial shortfall. Conversely, the government contended that VTEC had submitted an overly optimistic bid. This marked the third occasion of early termination of the East Coast franchise on financial grounds, prompting future contracts from 2020 onwards to focus on enhanced cooperation between private operators and Network Rail, the state-owned infrastructure authority.

Franchise Award

In January 2014, the Department for Transport (DfT) shortlisted FirstGroup, a consortium of Keolis and Eurostar, alongside a joint venture between Stagecoach and Virgin to bid for the renewed InterCity East Coast franchise. By November 2014, the eight-year contract was awarded to the Stagecoach/Virgin partnership, which began service under the Virgin Trains East Coast brand on 1 March 2015.

Financial Challenges

On 28 June 2017, Stagecoach revealed that passenger income from the East Coast route had fallen below projections, resulting in an approximate £200 million loss due to earnings being insufficient relative to government franchise payments. Attempts to renegotiate terms were delayed by a general election. Share prices declined by 11%, further impacting financial results. The RMT union advocated for renationalisation; however, Stagecoach expressed confidence in achieving profitability within two years.

In November 2017, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling declared that the franchise would conclude three years ahead of schedule in 2020 and be succeeded by the East Coast Partnership (ECP)—a novel long-term regional public-private model granting private operators greater influence over Network Rail infrastructure under a single brand identity. The House of Commons Transport Committee labelled this model as "experimental" and recommended conducting a feasibility study. Stagecoach attributed revenue deficits to delays by Network Rail in delivering infrastructure upgrades and government-controlled postponements in Azuma train introductions, while Grayling blamed errors in Stagecoach’s bidding strategy, noting that the tender process encouraged aggressive bidding. Critics interpreted the early termination as effectively another government bailout due to lost future franchise payments exceeding £2 billion over four years. Analysts observed that responsibility was shared between both parties, making early termination a mutually agreeable solution. Both sides anticipated fulfilling contractual payments up until termination, and with no evidence of wrongdoing found, Stagecoach and Virgin remained eligible to bid for forthcoming franchises, including participation in the ECP.

Termination

In February 2018, the conclusion of VTEC's contract was brought forward to "a few months," as the Secretary contemplated either a brief not-for-profit agreement with VTEC or reversion to government control through an operator of last resort until the East Coast Partnership commenced in 2020. On 16 May 2018, it was declared that London North Eastern Railway, a state-run operator of last resort, would assume responsibility for the route starting 24 June 2018, thereby concluding VTEC's tenure.

Services

Virgin Trains East Coast took over all services previously operated by East Coast, organizing weekday journeys from into four principal corridors:

	Route	Off-peak frequency	Stops (off-peak)	Peak-time extensions
A	Template:Rws to Template:Rws (West Yorkshire)	2tph	1tph: Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws 1tph: Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws	1tpd to Template:Rws via Template:Rws 1tpd to Template:Rws via Template:Rws 1tpd to Template:Rws via Template:Rws
B	Template:Rws to Edinburgh (express)	1tph	Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws	1tpd to Template:Rws 1tpd to Stirling 4tpd to Template:Rws (3 from London King's Cross, 1 from Leeds)
C	Template:Rws to Edinburgh (semi-fast)	1tph	Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws (1tp2h), Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws (1tp2h) (Alternate trains serve Northallerton and Alnmouth)	1tpd to Template:Rws 1tpd to Template:Rws
D	Template:Rws to Template:Rws (and onward to Template:Rws)	1tph	Stops at Template:Rws, Template:Rws, and Template:Rws; Every two hours extended service to York calling at Template:Rws and Template:Rws	1tpd to Template:Rws 1tpd to Hull

Named trains

Virgin Trains East Coast operated a number of distinguished named services, including:

Name	Origin	Destination	Additional information
Flying Scotsman	London King's Cross	Edinburgh Waverley	Service initiated in 1862; named by LNER in 1924; currently runs southbound only
Highland Chieftain	London King's Cross	Inverness	The longest route operated by Virgin Trains East Coast
Northern Lights	London King's Cross	Aberdeen

Service modifications

On 14 December 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast commenced daily operations to Stirling and via , alongside an extra weekday evening service connecting Hull and Doncaster through Selby. By May 2016, several weekday trains bound for Newcastle were extended to Edinburgh, establishing an almost 30-minute interval between these two cities. Additional stops were added from December 2016 to improve links to Edinburgh and London.

The timetable update in December 2017 introduced 24 new Saturday services, increasing the total number to 151—only six fewer than on weekdays. Additionally, a weekday early-morning departure from York at 4:40 am arriving in London by 7 am was inaugurated.

Rolling stock

Virgin Trains East Coast took over rolling stock previously operated by East Coast, which included InterCity 125 High Speed Train (HST) units composed of Class 43 power cars and Mark 3 coaches, as well as InterCity 225 sets featuring Class 91 electric locomotives, Mark 4 carriages, and Driving Van Trailers. Within three days of the franchise's commencement, most driving vehicles displayed the Virgin emblem; by November 2015, all trains had been repainted in the red and white VTEC livery.

Subsequent interior refurbishments included modernized toilet facilities and replacement of seat upholstery and carpets. The first upgraded train set entered service on 31 December 2015. All HST units were refurbished by August 2016, with the InterCity 225 sets completed by January 2017.

In July 2015, an extra HST set was acquired from East Midlands Trains.

Fleet at franchise conclusion

Class	Image	Type	Maximum speed		Quantity	Year built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
InterCity 125 trains (HSTs)
Class 43		Diesel locomotive	125	200	32	1976–1982
Mark 3 carriage		Passenger carriage			117	1975–1988
InterCity 225 trains
Template:Brc		Electric locomotive	140	225	31	1988–1991
Mark 4 carriage		Passenger carriage			302	1989–1992
Driving Van Trailer		Control car			31	1988
Leased locomotives
Template:Brc		Electric locomotive	110	177	3	1987–1990	Temporarily leased to address Class 91 shortages.

Intercity Express Programme

Virgin Trains East Coast did not plan to acquire new rolling stock but was scheduled to introduce a fleet comprising ten five-car and thirteen nine-car British Rail Class 800 bi-mode trains, along with twelve five-car and thirty nine-car British Rail Class 801 electric multiple units under the Department for Transport's Intercity Express Programme. On 16 March 2016, VTEC revealed the initial trains, naming them Azuma, which translates to "east" in Japanese. Although these trains were slated to commence service from December 2018, the franchise's premature conclusion in June 2018 prevented their deployment under VTEC. The Azuma fleet eventually entered operation in May 2019 with London North Eastern Railway while retaining the same branding.

Depots

Virgin Trains East Coast maintained operations across four principal depots:

• Bounds Green TMD, London
• Neville Hill TMD, Leeds
• Heaton TMD, Newcastle – overseen by Arriva Rail North
• Craigentinny TMD, Edinburgh – dedicated to repainting and extensive maintenance

Punctuality

During the four-week period from 13 December 2015 to 9 January 2016, the public performance measure (PPM), which reflects both punctuality and reliability, stood at 82.0%, with a rolling annual average reaching 86.9%.

Profitability

Virgin Trains East Coast pledged to deliver higher premium payments to the government than its predecessor but ultimately did not achieve these financial commitments, leading to the surrender of its £3.3 billion franchise.

In its initial full year of operation, the company contributed merely £204 million in premiums before defaulting, compared with £235 million paid by the publicly run East Coast franchise in the preceding year.

Incident involving Jeremy Corbyn

In August 2016, footage emerged showing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn stating he was compelled to sit on the floor of a VTEC train bound for Newcastle due to overcrowding. Corbyn remarked, "Is it fair that I should upgrade my ticket whilst others who might not be able to afford such a luxury should have to sit on the floor? It's their money I would be spending after all.” Virgin Trains subsequently released edited CCTV clips depicting Corbyn walking past vacant seats in Coach H, filming his statement, then returning to sit for the remainder of the journey. Corbyn explained that he had searched for two adjacent seats to accompany his wife but was unable to find any, so he chose to sit at the train’s end.

Further examination by media outlets supportive of Corbyn’s leadership bid indicated some unreserved seats were taken and that other passengers also occupied vestibule areas, casting doubt on initial claims. This episode brought attention to challenges related to train capacity and passenger experience, generating considerable public and media focus impacting Virgin Trains’ service image.

Industrial action

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) announced three separate 24-hour strikes in August 2016 in response to VTEC’s proposed driver-only operations, nearly 200 compulsory job cuts, and concerns over employee wages. After negotiations between Virgin Trains East Coast and the RMT, these planned strikes were called off.

However, a failure in talks led to a 24-hour strike taking place on 3 October 2016. Additional 48-hour strikes planned for 28–29 April 2017 were also cancelled following progress made during further union-company discussions.