New West Coast rail franchise will bring upgrades for passengers

The new West Coast rail franchise, operating services from Stockport to London and Manchester, plans to upgrade services when it takes over from Virgin Trains on 8^th December.

The new franchise will be operated by a partnership between First Group and Italian train company, Trenitalia. Virgin Trains has managed the route since 1997, and in a report today by The Times, managing director Phil Whittingham will continue at First Trenitalia.

The new franchise holders plan to upgrade the existing Pendolino rolling stock on West Coast Mainline services, as well as acquire 23 new trains for services to North Wales. First Trenitalia intend to increase capacity with 25,000 new seats. It is planned that 260 additional services will run each week, improving the connectivity of towns and cities in the Northwest with the West Midlands, London and eachother.

Train upgrades are set to include free Wi-Fi for all passengers, at-seat wireless charging for electronic devices, and an improved range of on-board catering.

Many of the network’s stations are also set for upgrades. Stockport station is one of four earmarked to receive improved accessibility, including the installation of Changing Places toilets for disabled passengers travelling from, or changing trains at the station.  

Trains have already had the Virgin Trains livery removed ahead of the last services running on Saturday 7^th December. All staff are being transferred to First Trenitalia with no changes to working conditions. Customers will also be able to use tickets purchased through Virgin Trains for travel after the change in ownership with no disruption. It is First Trenitalia’s intention to offer more flexibility in ticketing, and extend the compensation scheme following delays to services.   

First Trenitalia’s contract to run the West Coast rail franchise lasts until 2031, covering a network of services from London Euston to Manchester, North Wales, Liverpool, Shrewsbury, Glasgow and Edinburgh.  The partnership will also operate HS2 services, once they commence in 2030: Trenitalia currently operate 1,000 km of high-speed services in Italy.