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Phil Whittingham (born 24 February 1971) [1] is a British businessman who as at December 2019 is the managing director of train operator Avanti West Coast.
After training with KPMG in Birmingham, Whittingham joined Virgin Trains West Coast in August 1999, becoming Finance Director in January 2008 and Managing Director in January 2015. [2] [3] In December 2019, Whittingham became managing director of Avanti West Coast. [4]
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 399 miles (642 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1869. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh, however the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
Virgin Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from 9 March 1997 to 7 December 2019. The franchise covered long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland, consequently connecting six of the UK's largest cities: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million. Virgin Trains had around 3,400 employees in 2015.
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970.
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transport.
The British Rail Class 390 Pendolino is a type of electric high-speed passenger train operated by Avanti West Coast in the United Kingdom, leased from Angel Trains. They are electric multiple units using Fiat Ferroviaria's tilting train Pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three units were originally built between 2001 and 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). They were ordered as 8-car units, later extended to 9 cars, of which some were then lengthened further to 11 cars. These new 11-car trains were renumbered as the subclass 390/1. The trains of the original batch were the last to be assembled at Alstom's Washwood Heath plant, before its closure in 2005. The remaining trains in the fleet were built in Italy.
The British Rail Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of tilting diesel-electric multiple-unit express passenger trains built in Bruges, Belgium, by Bombardier Transportation in 2001/02.
The Wolverhampton–Shrewsbury line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington; it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and four tracks through Wellington station.
Warrington Bank Quay railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Warrington Bank Quay is a north–south oriented mainline station on one side of the main shopping area, with the west–east oriented Warrington Central on the other side to the north west operating a more frequent service to the neighbouring cities of Liverpool and Manchester. Cheshire Cat Buses are operated from the station into Warrington Bus Interchange and in the opposite direction to the Centre Park business park, Stockton Heath and further south into Cheshire. The station is directly on the West Coast Main Line.
Stoke-on-Trent railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line. The station also provides an interchange between various local services running through Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
Stafford railway station is a major interchange railway station in Stafford, Staffordshire, England, and is the second busiest railway station in Staffordshire, after Stoke-on-Trent. The station serves the county town, as well as surrounding villages. The station lies on the junction of the Trent Valley Line, the Birmingham Loop/Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line, and the West Coast Main Line.
Runcorn railway station is in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, north-west England. The station lies on the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line/Crewe-Liverpool Lime Street line via Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway between Acton Bridge/Crewe and Liverpool South Parkway and is managed by Avanti West Coast. There are regular services to Liverpool Lime Street, Crewe, London Euston, Birmingham New Street and Chester.
Wellington railway station serves the town of Wellington, Shropshire, England. It is situated on the former Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line. Trains are operated by West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales.
The Bombardier Voyager is a family of high-speed 125 mph diesel-electric multiple units built in Belgium by Bombardier Transportation, for service on the railway network of the United Kingdom. Construction of the Voyager family took place between 2000 and 2005, consisting of three classes - the Class 220 Voyager, Class 221 Super Voyager and Class 222 Meridian. These three classes are currently operated by CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry, and East Midlands Railway (respectively).
This is a list of Richard Branson's business ventures from the 1960s to today.
Telford Central railway station serves the town of Telford, Shropshire, England. It is located on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) north west of Wolverhampton and is operated by West Midlands Trains. It is situated close to the Telford Shopping Centre, the main commercial district of the town.
InterCity West Coast (ICWC) was a 1997–2019 railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line, between London Euston, the West Midlands, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other major destinations between.
The West Coast Partnership (WCP) is a railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (WCML)(and branches thereof), between London Euston, the West Midlands, Shropshire, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Founded in December 2019, it is currently operated by First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited, comprising two distinct parts, Avanti West Coast which runs the current services on the WCML, and West Coast Partnership Development, which is the 'shadow operator' for future high-speed services.
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise.
The British Rail Class 805 AT300 is a type of bi-mode multiple unit which is being built by Hitachi for Avanti West Coast. Based on the Hitachi A-train design, 13 five-car units are being built to replace Class 221s on services between London Euston and stations on the North Wales Coast and Shrewsbury lines. Their introduction will allow the elimination of long-distance diesel working on electrified routes.
The British Rail Class 807 AT300 is a type of electric multiple unit being built by Hitachi for train operator Avanti West Coast. Based on the Hitachi A-train design, a total of ten 7-car units will be produced.
