The firm has pledged to deliver a range of passenger enhancements.

Avanti West Coast service launched as Virgin Trains hits buffers

The company has been around almost as long as privatised rail, it brought in a series of changes, but is now set to disappear overnight. 

How Virgin Trains changed British railway travel

Chief executive Martin Griffiths said the company is ‘seeking an urgent meeting to discuss our significant concerns’.

Other odd items found to be flushed on their trains include glasses, weddings rings and a football scarf.

Some £3.3 billion was due to be paid to the Government by the operator over eight years from March 2015.

The first LNER service will be the 7.54am departure from Newcastle to London King’s Cross.

Trains on the route will be brought back under public control from Sunday, with the London North Eastern Railway brand being resurrected.

Rail services on the East Coast Main Line are to be nationalised, but this is not the first time the East Coast franchise has had issues.

Virgin Trains no longer stock the Daily Mail after describing it as "not at all compatible" with the travel company's brand and beliefs.


A commuter has been left "stunned" at the response to her complaint of alleged "rude and misogynistic behaviour" by a train manager.

Planned strikes by the RMT and TSSA unions on Virgin Trains West Coast on Friday and four days in January have been called off.

The train company will give the ticket to one passenger every day, and say it will continue as long as people participate.

Aston Villa and Virgin Trains have become involved in a social media spat over a joke about the football club's managerial history.


CCTV appears to show Jeremy Corbyn walking past empty train seats which he was previously filmed calling "completely ram-packed carriages".