Future Operator Branding Names

[dorsetdesiro]

Whoever gets IC West Coast if it isn't Virgin-Stagecoach, then expectations shouldn't be raised which I wouldn't put it past them to go for something vanilla like "West Coast Trains" but as with "Horizon Trains" it could be something out of the ordinary without traditional and geographical references...

If FirstGroup wins then they could still press with the "Horizon Trains" brand even years later after the Gov's franchising cock up!

 

[SEClass375]

How about GNWR - Great North West Railway or is that too similar to GWR and people get confused.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It isn't easy to come up with a name for the IC East Coast post Virgin-Stagecoach, I thought of "Lothian & East Mercia Railway" and "Danelagh Railways" referring to when Yorkshire and East Midlands were under Viking rule.

I suppose "Eastern Britannia Railway" may be OK if the West Coast at the same time is "Western Britannia Railway" if they are operated by different companies that the branding style likely wouldn't look the same causing confusion as with Virgin unwilling to differenate between WC and EC.

The simpler "East Coast Trains" is being taken by FirstGroup for their rival open access service so say if Arriva or Abellio wins ICEC then they will have come up with another name...

It's a Railway linking London with the North-East, so I'm sure somebody will be able to come up with something appropriate...

 

[dorsetdesiro]

How about GNWR - Great North West Railway or is that too similar to GWR and people get confused.

As Greater Western is being proposed to split into two that FirstGroup may lose the franchise next time or end up running the other half that it may even not be called GWR so GNWR would be another great name...

Also the GNER name could perhaps be revived for the East Coast if the future operator isn't FirstGroup or Stagecoach

 

[backontrack]

It isn't easy to come up with a name for the IC East Coast post Virgin-Stagecoach, I thought of "Lothian & East Mercia Railway" and "Danelagh Railways" referring to when Yorkshire and East Midlands were under Viking rule.

Easy peasy. Great North Eastern Railway.

Oh wait...

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

How about GNWR - Great North West Railway or is that too similar to GWR and people get confused.

GNWR is registered to Alliance Rail (Arriva) for their open access services from Euston to Blackpool (still to be confirmed).
Besides, the north west has never had a Great anything (though it did have a Grand Junction).
The Great Central was not very great in the area (mostly hidden in the Cheshire Lines Committee).
The Great Northern limped into Stafford, and the Great Western to Chester and Warrington.
Whatever anyone says, the WCML route was London & North Western Railway longer than anything else.
Also the Premier Line informally.
The Caledonian operated the northern end from Carlisle to Glasgow/Edinburgh (and on to Aberdeen).

 

[Leo1961]

I would like to suggest the following for the winner of the next WCML franchise;

Mercumcalia Railways (Anagram of Mercia, Cumbria and Caledonia)

or

Brumaccieriam Railways (Anagram of Mercia and Cumbria)

as this is where the majority of their services will run.

Don't worry, I have already got my coat...

 

[dorsetdesiro]

GNWR is registered to Alliance Rail (Arriva) for their open access services from Euston to Blackpool (still to be confirmed).
Besides, the north west has never had a Great anything (though it did have a Grand Junction).
The Great Central was not very great in the area (mostly hidden in the Cheshire Lines Committee).
The Great Northern limped into Stafford, and the Great Western to Chester and Warrington.
Whatever anyone says, the WCML route was London & North Western Railway longer than anything else.
Also the Premier Line informally.
The Caledonian operated the northern end from Carlisle to Glasgow/Edinburgh (and on to Aberdeen).

Forgot about Alliance Rail as their proposals never seem to get off the ground as with GSR down south which the remaining 442s earmarked for GSR probably will end up with SWR if demand increases on the Portsmouth line.

Due to the historical signifiance, LNWR would be a good name for IC West Coast if Abellio didn't choose "London Northwestern Railway" for replacing London Midland

 

[SEClass375]

Having a bit of a laugh based on other TOCs names.

How about n2s or s2n:
North to south or south to north?

Or a number spelt out like the number of cities it serves: Five

 

[dorsetdesiro]

Having a bit of a laugh based on other TOCs names.

How about n2s or s2n:
North to south or south to north?

Or a number spelt out like the number of cities it serves: Five

Exactly, ridiculous or out of the ordinary like C2C, one and Horizon!

But I guess C2C isn't daft as it means "city to coast" which is perfect for London to Southend as "Essex Thameside" or the previous name "LTS Rail" seem uninspiring.

Another idea here based on city to city for WC and EC, how about "London Edinburgh Railway" and "London Glasgow Railway" as London Birmingham Railway was a bygone company also it was London Midland's offical name?

 

[43096]

Sounds like they're going for the official approach a la WMR. Platform 1 for the 1200 Transport for Wales service to Shrewsbury" Catchy(!)

I'd go for "Welsh Rail" or "Wales Railway"

Druid Rail!

 

[Tom B]

Many passengers struggle to keep up with the names of operators and their regular changes (c.f. how many people still refer to British Rail). In that sense, it should make things a little easier for passengers.

That being said, will the suppliers of locomotive paint be issuing a profit warning, if everything isn't getting repainted every 5 minutes?!

 

[JaJaWa]

Having a bit of a laugh based on other TOCs names.

How about n2s or s2n:
North to south or south to north?

Or a number spelt out like the number of cities it serves: Five

You can’t hear the difference:

“Platform 1 for the 09:25 service to London Liverpool Street”

“Platform 1 for the 09:20 Five service to London Liverpool Street”

This is apparently one of the main reasons One decided to rebrand.

 

[Chris M]

In what way did it not? All their services bar the two south WCML branches, as I said, served either London, the Midlands or both. So to me the name makes absolute sense.

Because a service called "London Midland" should be connecting London and the Midlands, not just one of them.

As for naming the Intercity West Coast, perhaps "Western Britannia Railway"? as this would generally cover both western parts of England and Scotland also including Wales for the Holyhead route

Except it doesn't cover the western portion of England south of about Crewe or any part of west Wales (Hollyhead is north Wales in exactly the same way that Bristol is the West of England and Manchester is the North of England. Something calling itself Western Britannia would fit best with the immediate post-privatisation Wales and West franchise.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Having a bit of a laugh based on other TOCs names.

How about n2s or s2n:
North to south or south to north?

Or a number spelt out like the number of cities it serves: Five

If that's for the WCML franchise, I think you'll find out that it serves more than five.

 

[birchesgreen]

A shorter non-specific name like Horizon is much better than some of the long winded names being used now, LNWR being the worst. Though i did buy a ticket for LNWR earlier to go to Bletchley, but the receipt says West Midlands Railway. I know what they mean and most people here will too but it does seem a rather confusing way to go about it especially for the casual traveller.

 

[backontrack]

A shorter non-specific name like Horizon is much better than some of the long winded names being used now, LNWR being the worst.

I quite like Northern Spirit.

 

[LOL The Irony]

I quite like Northern Spirit.

They also had simple but good looking liveries and branding.

 

[backontrack]

They also had simple but good looking liveries and branding.

Oh definitely. Their transpennine livery looked particularly good.

 

[Harbornite]

ICWC was almost called Horizon Trains if the First bid had not been cancelled due to irregularities. The branding (attached) was even prepared.

FWIW, London Midland did make sense for WCML locals - almost all their services did either go to London or the Midlands or both, indeed the only two that could be said didn't were the two south WCML branches i.e. Marston Vale and St Albans.

Thanks for sharing those, I wasn't aware of that proposal.

Speaking of Intercity, I'd like to see a return of said brand, with adaptations for whatever route it is (e.g. Intercity West Coast, a la the franchise name). However, it seems that TOCs would rather hark back to the age of steam with their branding.

 

[Harbornite]

As Greater Western is being proposed to split into two that FirstGroup may lose the franchise next time or end up running the other half that it may even not be called GWR so GNWR would be another great name...

Also the GNER name could perhaps be revived for the East Coast if the future operator isn't FirstGroup or Stagecoach

GNER was the suggested brand of Alliance Rail's mooted ECML open access service.
http://www.alliancerail.co.uk/news

 

[PR1Berske]

Some decisions about names are guided by the DfT itself. The phrase "Wales and Borders" must feature in that franchise's name, whenever it is awarded. The West Coast/HS2 partnership brand is instructed to have a direct connection with each other.

 

[Chris M]

Another upvote for Northern Spirit. Easy to remember, not confusing, not misleading, not too long.

Some decisions about names are guided by the DfT itself. The phrase "Wales and Borders" must feature in that franchise's name, whenever it is awarded. The West Coast/HS2 partnership brand is instructed to have a direct connection with each other.

This just smacks of needless micromanagement.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Can't see anything with Scotland/Scottish/Wales/Welsh in the branding which doesn't have the endorsement of the SG or WG respectively.
And they won't give that except for their own operations.

There's a whole industry around transport branding, and the tendency is to invent meaningless but "aspirational" names rather than anything geographic or historical.
Just look at SNCF's efforts (Thales, Ouigo, Lyria, Elipsos) - these are from a nationalised railway, and are all variants of TGV services.
RENFE has AVE, Avant, Alvia and Euromed (only the latter has a geographic link).
Italy has its Frecci... services, representing different levels of high speed service, none of which are geographic or historical.
Air France has Hop! and Joon brands (supposed to appeal to the jaune - young).
IAG has a new low-cost airline called LEVEL.

First's Horizon proposal was a step in this direction, c2c was another (and widely derided when launched, not so much now).
The trouble is the franchise owners' own branding are not very memorable and are likely to be ephemeral.
How long will brands like Abellio or Govia last?
On the other hand EasyJet and Ryanair didn't exist until recently, but they are now the biggest airlines in Europe.

In Australia, the NSW State Rail Authority brands its services Sydneylink (suburban) and Countrylink (long distance), both very bland.
Germany has regional names like Metronom (round Hamburg/Bremen).
Paris has Transilien (Ile de France).

Or look at cars.
Who'd have thought something called C'eed would be successful, or Mokka or Qashqai or Kadjar?

When SNCF launched the first TGV service (Paris-Lyon) its on-board service was branded "Service 270" - 270km/h (168mph) being the original speed of the new line.
It's a bit more complicated today with newer lines and trains having higher speeds (and Paris-Lyon itself has been upgraded).
Our HS2 version could have 350 in the name, if that is what the service speed will be.
IC350 would also link back to BR's IC225 (though the ECML never operated at that speed).