Virgin-bashing ain't my style (Virgin Trains)

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Product:	Virgin Trains
Date:	24/08/02 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap fares to be had, Timely service (this time)

Disadvantages: Can be overcrowded

It seems like everyone enjoys a bit of Virgin-bashing these days. It’s like a national pastime. (Ooh er missus!) I feel a bit sorry for Richard Branson really. Here’s a bloke who’s made something of himself and is quite happy to give a bit back to the country that spawned him.

But for all his good intentions, he simply gets vilified and his motives questioned. We love to drag down an achiever, don’t we? I suppose it is how we cope with the fact that we haven’t started with nothing and ended up as multi-millionaire entrepreneurs. Thatcher’s kids don’t understand someone trying to give something back! It’s an alien concept…we are busy looking for the kickback.

Anyhoo, not content with losing out to CAMELOT of all companies for the National Lottery, Dicky decided to turn his healing hand to the railways. Talk about making a rod for your own back Dicky boy.

Everyone knows the railways have been cash starved and mismanaged for donkey’s years. We’ve heard all about the poorly maintained track and sadly out of date rolling stock, the demoralised workforce and the poor safety record.

So, enter Sir Richard, stage left, on his dashing white charger (well, a white train with red Virgin trim). He asked the country’s rail users to be patient, said that the company would inject vast amounts of money into improving things, but it would take time.

And the rail users waited, and the next day, said, “Sir Richard mate, things haven’t improved at all. Trains are still expensive, dirty, infrequent, often late and uncomfortable.”

“I may be a genius, but I can’t do miracles overnight…give me a couple of years, I’m spending billions here!” Sir Dicky replied.

According to its website, Virgin Trains, operates two rail franchises, West Coast Trains and CrossCountry Trains.

The West Coast
network operates from London Euston to the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and Scotland.

CrossCountry, with Birmingham at its hub, operates services to the South West, the South Coast, the North of England and Scotland. CrossCountry has some of the longest services in the UK such as 'The Wessex Scot' which travels the 470 miles between Glasgow and Bournemouth, and 'The Cornishman' which connects Dundee and Penzance, more than 700 miles apart.

It was with some trepidation that I decided to travel by train, by Virgin CrossCountry from my home in Bristol to the Ciao meet in Birmingham last weekend. I’m not a regular train traveller. I haven’t been on a train for years and I wasn’t much looking forward to it.

Booking the tickets was a doddle. I booked them online with Qjump.co.uk, for the amazing price of £12 return, if booked seven days in advance. But that’s another opinion ;O)

The first thing that amazed me was that our train was on time – and I mean punctual to the second, both on departure from Bristol and arrival in Birmingham! In fact, amazingly, it was on time on the return journey the next day too!

The train managed to stay exactly to timetable. Now I don’t know if that’s a rarity or not, but that’s my experience. I don’t know if things are different for weekday travel.

Secondly, the train was quite comfortable, if a little cramped and lacking in legroom, and it was clean. Our reserved seats were clearly marked, though our outbound train, leaving Bristol at 9.17am on a Saturday morning, wasn’t hugely busy.

Our train to Birmingham had a buffet service and we were able to have a nice hot cup of tea, which was very pleasant, if a little pricey at £1.20. I was also rather chuffed to be given a free Virgin Trains travel bag full of goodies (biscuits, sweets, puzzle books, a reading book, crayons etc) to take h
ome for my daughter. She was well pleased!

We travelled from Parkway station, which is small, clean and recently refurbished, and wasn’t particularly busy. The journey took about an hour and a half and passed quickly and pleasantly. The train was nicely air conditioned so we were quite comfortable despite the heat of the day.

On our return journey on Sunday afternoon, it was a slightly less pleasant trip.

New Street Station was hot, busy and not very clean. The staff were unhelpful in the extreme. We accompanied PinkPrincess to the station, but there was no wheelchair access into the station from the entrance we were at. We asked the staff in the station to help Jo to get down the escalator but they said they weren’t insured to leave the immediate station area. They suggested that we ask someone from the shopping centre to help. In the end, our train arrived, and we had to rush back to Jo and explain the staff wouldn’t help and she’d have to find her own way, which we weren’t happy about at all. Luckily, she’s a resourceful woman, and found her way home, thanks apparently to a strapping bunch of lads.

We arrived at the train, a bit winded and confused, and asked directions to our reserved carriage from a member of staff on the platform, who was very surly, rude and unpleasant.

I was vastly relieved that we had reserved seats, as there wasn’t a free spot to be had. We arrived at our designated seats to find a rather frazzled young lady occupying one of them. She did move, after we waved our reservation confirmation slips. I don’t know if she managed to find another seat. Somehow, I doubt it.

The return train was much less comfortable and clean, mainly due to the overcrowding. Large piles of luggage had been left in the gangway and at the entrances, which also made it difficult to pass, and seemed rather dangerous. It made the whole experience rather un
pleasant and stressful on the return trip.

The return train had a bar car, which meant there were a few drunken idiots wandering up and down the aisle, but other than that, the trip was smooth and uneventful and we arrived home on schedule.

So, what do I think of Virgin trains? Well, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. We got a bargain fare, which was a huge bonus. The trains were comfortable and not too antiquated and the seats also comfortable, if a little short on legroom (but then, how much legroom does a shortarse like me really need?) The service was timely and we got to our destination safely and with the minimum of fuss. The seats we reserved were clearly marked on both journeys. I know train operators have to try to make a profit, but I just wish they wouldn't oversell them so much. There were just far too many people on our return train, and the 4.35pm was the only train that we could get seats on a week in advance.

So thank you Sir Richard, on the whole my experience of your baby was reasonably positive……I won’t be doing any Virgin bashing today!

(The ratings below apply to this particular trip)

Thanks for reading.

Allie xx

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