Virgin Trains

Living on a town covered by GWR, Virgin trains are far better. Modern, clean and fast, with good fares off peak if you book in advance.

Advance booking is a problem on the West Coast line at the moment for weekend journeys, due to all the engineering work to upgrade the line, as Virgin seem unsure as to which services will be running. Once that is sorted (Dec 2008?), then the fast journeys will return with an improved frequency. Cheapest tickets are best researched on http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com/ though there are likely to be special offers on the Virgin site.

This is the WORST train company operating in the whole of Britain and probably Western Europe. Their website claims: "(seat) reservations can...be made from 6-8 weeks in advance for ALL ticket types". Sorry - it's 2 weeks before my journey, and I can't get a reservation on any train. So, I'm going to endure a 2 hour journey up to Penrith, where I will probably STAND on a cramped, overcrowded shack on bogies that Virgin dare to call a train! Last time I reserved a 'window seat', I got a nice blank panel instead! And was nearly bumped out of my seat by a person with the same seat reservation. But the worst thing is that I can't even avoid travelling with Virgin, as they dominate the nearest Mainline (WestCoast). At least the staff tend to be friendly. Good (but unfortunately useless) advice: AVOID VIRGIN AT ALL COSTS!!!

I used Virgin trains twice in the last year,I booked a first class ticket for me and my wife last year from crewe to London ,the
table was dirty with used cup and plates by previous passengers and when I mentioned it to the hostess She said it is not her job ,and also when I enquired about parking facilities in Crewe station I could not get an answer ,I was told to drive to the station to find out,I complained by email I had no reply this was last year this year there was a two hour delay,I think for the price we pay we should get a better service.