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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, Manchester, Liverpool 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 400 miles (644 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1881. 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, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
Virgin Trains (VT) 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 southern Scotland, consequently connecting six of the UK's largest cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million. It had around 3,400 employees in 2015.
InterCity was a brand name introduced by British Rail in 1966 for its long-haul express passenger services.
In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
The InterCity 225 is an electric push-pull high speed train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer (DVT). The Class 91 locomotives were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Crewe Works as a spin-off from the Advanced Passenger Train project, which was abandoned during the 1980s, whilst the coaches and DVT were constructed by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham and Breda in Italy, again borrowing heavily from the Advanced Passenger Train. The trains were designed to operate at up to 140 mph (225 km/h) in regular service, but are limited to 125 mph (200 km/h) principally due to a lack of cab signalling and the limitations of the current overhead line equipment. They were introduced into service between 1989 and 1991 for intercity services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) from London King's Cross to Leeds, York and Edinburgh.
Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Along with the InterCity West Coast franchise held by a separate legal entity, the company traded under the Virgin Trains brand.
The British Rail Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of tilting diesel-electric multiple unit express passenger trains built in Bruges, Belgium and Wakefield, by Bombardier Transportation in 2001–02.
The British Rail Class 90 is a type of electric locomotive. They were built for mixed-traffic duties, operating from 25 kV AC overhead lines and producing 5,000 bhp (3,700 kW). They weigh 84.5 tonnes and can typically achieve a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h).
Blackpool North station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line and is 17+1⁄2 miles (28 km) northwest of Preston. It also has an adjacent tram stop on the Blackpool Tramway.
Motherwell railway station is a railway station serves the town of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), and is served also by Argyle Line trains of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It is the penultimate stop on the northbound WCML before Glasgow. There are four platforms of various length in use at Motherwell. The station is located next to the town's main shopping arcade, Motherwell Shopping Centre.
Grand Central is an open-access train operating company in the United Kingdom. A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, it has operated passenger rail services since December 2007.
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, the Class 221 Super Voyager and the Class 222 Meridian.
The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line is a main railway route which connects the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, by means of their respective sections of the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
CrossCountry is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with the take-over of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn, Arriva UK Trains also took over the running of those formerly overseen by DB Regio UK Limited.
The InterCity 250 was an electric railway project undertaken by British Rail in the late 1980s. The InterCity 250 train would have consisted of a Class 93 electric locomotive, nine Mark 5 coaches and a Mark 5 Driving Van Trailer operating in a push-pull formation. The British Rail project was cancelled in July 1992.
Great Britain has numerous intercity services traversing the country, however, unlike in other countries, these are not clearly defined. Most of these trains are high speed, and some operate into France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The West Coast Partnership (WCP) is a railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), 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.
First Trenitalia West Coast Rail trading as Avanti West Coast is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership.
Virgin Trains is a brand name that has been used by several Virgin Group railway operators.
References
- ↑ Virgin to tackle IC West Coast Rail Privatisation News issue 48 20 February 1997 page 1
- ↑ Branson's Virgin Group wins CrossCountry Trains for 15 years Rail issue 294 18 December 1996 page 6
- ↑ Arriva takes New CrossCountry Railway Gazette International August 2007 page 465
- ↑ Shock as Virgin loses Cross Country to Arriva The Railway Magazine issue 1277 September 2007 page 11
- ↑ Voyagers are set to work London-Glasgow route Rail issue 559 14 February 2007 page 12
- ↑ Big changes as Dft Rail redraws Cross Country map The Railway Magazine issue 1264 August 2006 page 6
- ↑ First Trenitalia wins West Coast Partnership Today's Railways UK issue 214 October 2019 page 9
- ↑ Virgin proposes London-Liverpool open access service Rail issue 881 19 June 2019 page 16
- ↑ Virgin pursues open access bid The Railway Magazine issue 1420 July 2019 page 7
- ↑ Virgin Trains targets West Coast in return to rail BBC News 23 May 2024
- ↑ Virgin Trains propose West Coast comeback The Railway Magazine issue 1479 June 2024 page 11
- ↑ Virgin plots West Coast return Modern Railways issue 910 July 2024 page 12
- ↑ Virgin open access Modern Railways issue 910 July 2024 pages 34/35
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