Ran out of money?! | Virgin Trains East Coast - Failed Franchises #16

Hello & welcome to the sixteenth episode of Failed Franchises. In this series I look at train companies that have failed at their franchise agreements or have been criticised by passengers & industry alike. Today is the fourth episode of my mini series on the East Coast Mainline and its operators. Today I am looking at Virgin Trains East Coast and discuss whether or not VTEC should be classed as a failed franchise.
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Thumbnail Image Credit: VTEC diversions - 16 September 2017 (10) by The Carlisle Kid, CC BY-SA 2 via Wikimedia Commons
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[@misterpwood]

Briefly worked for VTEC, initially just processing delay repays. Then got put on a project to clear up over a years worth of complaints as they had 'accidentally' marked them all closed and resolved en masse.

[@SiVlog1989]

VTEC is a lesson (though whether any future government, including the newly elected, at the time of comment, Labour government will heed this remains to be seen) that in spite of certain MP's desire to maintain the franchise system, it doesn't disguise the fact that an incoming franchise can and does over promise and under deliver, resulting in the company awarded with the franchise being unable to fulfill its commitments. The answer is to let the remaining franchises run their course and not renew them, returning them to the Department of Transport

[@Droidtopiateam]

Ok

[@davidty2006]

The franchise system is indeed a failiure.. the open accesss operators however, because they are actual private companies are a success and there should be more of em.

[@itskdog]

IKRC, that seems to be Labour's plan.

[@captaindebug]

The only winners in the rail franchise debacle seem to be the companies who are constantly rebranding fleets of trains...

[@shodan2958]

Interesting relationship with Virgin Trains East Coast, without it, I doubt I'd be a rail fan because without its failure we would've never got LNER, the best train operator in the country in my opinion. Service seemed okay on the few occasions I used it but I really noticed and appreciated how much more public service focused LNER are compared to VTEC and just how pleasant train travel can be as a result. My first experience on it as a university student was gone in with the mindset of "I'm probably not going to like this experience of train travel but we're going to have to live with it" then enjoying the experience, then becoming a full on fan of it as LNER made the experience of commuting back and forth from university just painless and even enjoyable.

[@andrewgee5449]

Always a brilliant video

[@FormallyknownasE100]

Brilliant series. I did find the refresh to be very nice but as you say beyond that there wasn’t much else they achieved.

[@Anonymoususer_2023]

Virgin Trains East Coast just like National Express East Coast, Great North Eastern Railway and East Coast were quite good at running good train services on the East Coast Main Line. But they still failed to impress passengers. At least they ordered new Class 800 and Class 801 Azuma trains before they lost the East Coast franchise to London North Eastern Railway in 2017. And the Class 43 HSTs were replaced by the new Azuma trains and some went to GWR and ScotRail.

[@bhuvaneshserene-blake9540]

OMG the first video has a class 67 with Virgin trains east coast!?!?!? Was that in regular service?

[@Vanmanyo]

Nope that was diversions that Tony managed to grab - great spot from him and kudos for letting me use it!

[@robertsmith4830]

"Only interested in the money" That right there basically sums up what is wrong with all public services in the UK.

[@joecurly3637]

They had brilliant first class discounts whether weekday or weekend, so it wasn't all that bad. Besides, I didn't really know any operator with that offer other than my grandfather's railway worker pass that gave him first class on all trains!

[@DKS225]

Here's a history lesson for you Vanmanyo. The Highland Chieftain before 1984 was known as The Clansman and originated from London Euston. as for The Northern Lights that was originally The Aberdonian but they changed that to the latter in the early 90's.

[@Vanmanyo]

Thank you!

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Strictly speaking the Clansman to Euston was a different service.

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

My recollection is that there was also an Inverness to London Euston overnight service called The Royal Highlander in the 1970s, and this is shown in my 1959 Scottish Region timetable. The 1959 timetable doesn't show any named trains between Aberdeen and London apart from The Elizabethan which ran non-stop Edinburgh-London KX with a guaranteed connection from Aberdeen and Dundee, requiring a change of train at Edinburgh. (The train also had a "Ladies Retiring Room with attendant" - how times have changed!)

[@AberdonaiBrum101]

Bored in the afternoon ,Nothing to watch. I see this on homepage: ( My eyecandy ) Proud 8th commenter :>

[@jay-xo9dx]

This wasn’t really virgin. Virgin only had 9% of the franchise unlike the WC where they had 51%. It was Stagecoach who ran it, they just paid to use the Virgin name for product recognition.

[@Vanmanyo]

Yep was far more stagecoach but calling it virgin is the correct way!

[@mindthegapplease3840]

It makes me laugh because it's called VTEC Which you get in a Honda VTEC Engine. (VTEC Just Kicked In Yo).

[@berillyispog]

i think the DFT is the main issue with privatisation

[@JonBowe]

I presume there to be greasy palms on both sides of the table. The funding's don't just disappear they have to go somewhere, somebody always profits from failed franchises.

[@mrvwbug4423]

With any luck the newly elected government will start their rail nationalization effort by sending Avanti packing haha.

[@GamingWithEnder0]

I remember Virgin Trains when I was younger and that was like... 5 years ago. Rest in peace Virgin Trains... You will be missed :( (And tbh it's sad cause the VT livery really suited the Class 390 and now AWC (Avanti West Coast) has made the 390's look... Horrendous)

[@lordbrit4630]

Yay new failed franchise - here's to many more

[@yourpals2030]

Virgin livery would’ve looked great on the IETs

[@Vanmanyo]

It did on the demonstrator unit!

[@AndrewG1989]

Virgin Trains East Coast just like National Express East Coast and open access franchise East Coast weren’t as good. And VTEC promised to bring better rail services on the East Coast Main Line. But somehow they didn’t. At least they have ordered new Hitachi Class 800 and Class 801 AT300 IETs to replace the Class 43 HST Mk3 and Class 91 Mk4. Which these new trains are now with LNER and are very nice trains.

[@Vanmanyo]

East coast isn't open access! And VTEC didn't order the Azumas, I believe this was a government led project!

[@AndrewG1989]

I think you are right.

[@Burgerse]

Please help me I bought class 90 in british railway but it won't letting me play with it

[@Vanmanyo]

I don't do BR things anymore! Ask someone in the discord!

[@andrewbowen4544]

Wonder on the 6th July if BR will make a comeback. I totally understand why Privatisation hasn't worked on some Rail lines and why DfT needed to takeover. Yet some are running ok.

[@DKS225]

I was thinking pretty much the same. Nationalisation rearing it's head for the first time since 1994. You only need look at Northern Rail, Scotrail, and Avanti at least.

[@Vanmanyo]

I don't think it'll be BR. Personally I think they'll keep the branding the same but just drop any private companies involvement. I sort of wish NSE or something returned!

[@katrinabryce]

Not, on 6th July. The plan is that when the existing contracts expire, they get taken over by the Government, much like what happened with TfW and Scotrail. 4 of them already have been renationalised, VTEC, the subject of this video, got rebranded as LNER, but South Eastern, Northern, and Transpennine were not rebranded. My guess is that Avanti West Coast will be rebranded, possibly as LMS (London, Midland and Scottish Railway), c2c I'm not sure about, but the others will keep their existing names. The open access operators don't have expiring contracts, so will probably remain private.

[@andrewbowen4544]

@@DKS225 Scotrail isn't doing too well. I think it might be a failed franchise

[@DKS225]

@@katrinabryce In a manner of speaking it's a case of history repeating itself. Cases in point LNER, GWR and Southern and if what you're saying becomes the case then it's The Big Four version 2.

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Worst thing VTEC did was the stupid talking toilets, along witb their general "look at us, aren't we so zany!?"-type marketing. Though i always felt the Virgin brand was style over substance.

[@malvinjnrn7784]

Virgin should be an open access company….. look at Deutsche Bahn, NS and SNCF/B

[@andybbeck2043]

Great video you talk alot of sense. needs to back to network rail running the whole lot away from fat cats

[@That_Roblox_YouTuber]

29 mins

[@THlMGS]

13 seconds ago

[@simongleaden2864]

I wish the narrator would say "Aitch-Ess-Tee", not "Haitch-Ess-Tee".

[@Vanmanyo]

You don't have to call me narrator!