After ten years of operating the franchise, Arriva to take over in November.
Following a government rail review, Virgin Trains is to cease operating the Cross Country franchise from 11 November this year as the Department for Transport (DfT) awards the network to rival Arriva.
Virgin has operated the route for ten years, ever since the company”s launch in January 1997. In a statement released today (Tuesday 10 July), CEO Tony Collins said: ”We are understandably extremely disappointed at today”s announcement and will be seeking an early meeting with the DfT to understand why we were unsuccessful.
”We attempted to strike a balance between an affordable and deliverable deal for the taxpayer and continuing the high quality customer service that Virgin Cross Country has created.”
The franchise currently links some 115 towns and cities from Aberdeen to Penzance, Cardiff to Stansted and Manchester to Bournemouth, although the network is to change slightly with the addition of some services operating under Central Trains.
Arriva will run the franchise for eight years and four months and under its management the following benefits will be introduced:
” Increased evening services to/from Stansted by extending journeys from Birmingham to Cambridge
” Wi-fi access, which is free to first class passengers
” Web-based ticketing system from December 2009 allowing customers to reserve seats, print tickets and receive tickets via mobile phone
” 25% more luggage space from internal refits to Voyager trains
” Catering offered to passengers in their seats, including hot meals in first class on weekdays
” Refurbished coaches on Birmingham to Stansted and Cardiff to Nottingham trains, with first class seats on every service
Arriva is also to add an additional 40 carriages to the network, which in conjunction with current coach refurbishments will provide an extra 3,000 seats a day on the busiest routes.
However, while annual rises of regulated fares (such as season tickets) will, as with all franchises, be regulated by the government and are currently capped at RPI+1%, Arriva has stated it may raise unregulated fares (such as cheap day returns) by an average of 3.4% above inflation each year.
Rail minister, Tom Harris, said: ”We have secured an excellent deal with Arriva. Not only are they delivering an even bigger increase in capacity than we asked for, they are doing it a year earlier than expected. I am especially pleased that the new franchisee will connect some of our biggest cities even more effectively. This will benefit both business and leisure passengers.”