VTEC to drop branding

[cf111]

Confusion for passengers happens anyway. Take the current scenario where two trains leave Glasgow QS for Inverness within roughly half an hour of each other. The 14.41 via Aberdeen takes nearly 5 hours and the 15.07 via Perth takes a little over 3 hours. With a £46 difference in ticket prices it can be an expensive mistake to make. I know because I've arrived at QS, saw this train on the board and jumped on it. I got off at Perth because I didn't want an onward 4 hour journey home!
My point is, these are both run by Scotrail, not other operators and both services show as Inverness on the main board. it's only under more scrutiny that you see the stations they call at.
The VT confusion can only really happen in certain places because the routes are mostly different. A particular emphasis to clarity has to be made in Edinburgh or Glasgow as both East Coast and West Coast use the stations.

Good point with the GLQ-INV services. It wouldn't be difficult for "Inverness via Aberdeen" to go on the departure boards.

 

[Marton]

Good point with the GLQ-INV services. It wouldn't be difficult for "Inverness via Aberdeen" to go on the departure boards.

Or what Northern do on York Leeds via Harrogate which are Burley Park and Poppleton and have the via Inverness as Nairn. .

 

[34D]

They need to deal with the twitter: either rename the current VT twitter as VTWC or just have the one twitter for the whole lot.

Incidentally, Leeds to London route Manchester fares disappeared several years ago: I'd like to start seeing this offered as an option once more.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Confusion for passengers happens anyway. Take the current scenario where two trains leave Glasgow QS for Inverness within roughly half an hour of each other. The 14.41 via Aberdeen takes nearly 5 hours and the 15.07 via Perth takes a little over 3 hours. With a £46 difference in ticket prices it can be an expensive mistake to make. I know because I've arrived at QS, saw this train on the board and jumped on it. I got off at Perth because I didn't want an onward 4 hour journey home!
My point is, these are both run by Scotrail, not other operators and both services show as Inverness on the main board. it's only under more scrutiny that you see the stations they call at.
The VT confusion can only really happen in certain places because the routes are mostly different. A particular emphasis to clarity has to be made in Edinburgh or Glasgow as both East Coast and West Coast use the stations.

I'm more worried about the confusion around the points of contact. At the station most people don't care who runs it, just when it leaves and where it stops at. But if you're booking online or contacting them it's reasonable to assume 'Virgin Trains' covers both franchises. However if you book an East Coast journey through the Virgin Trains website you lose out on the online discount, the seat selection tool and of course the crappy Nectar points that Claire Perry loves so much. Then I see multiple times a day people tweeting the wrong account.

Im all for this, along with a standardisation of onboard service too.

Why would you want the onboard service aligned unless it truly was taking the best from each franchise? Apart from breakfast (which VTEC plan to improve) the VTEC catering offer is better for the rest of the day. I do like the fact Virgin Trains have their own beer and that's something VTEC are introducing next month. Each franchise has their own teams responsible for catering and on-board experience let them decide what's best for each franchise (while feeling free to take any good ideas the other comes up with).

I'd also not be happy if VTEC replaced Coke with Pepsi to match the west coast. David Horne agrees with that one

 

[jon0844]

Have one website, one logo and one 'brand' but keep announcements to Virgin Trains East Coast and change Virgin Trains to Virgin Trains West Coast.

Then have the standard livery if necessary, but have (in more ordinary text, so not part of the logo) the words West Coast or East Coast written by the doors or something.

You now have something akin to FCC having the TL and GN routes, which was essential for timetables, ticketing etc - but still came under one umbrella.

 

[cf111]

What on earth do they think a weekend at gran's involves?!

 

[Spamcan81]

Might this have contributed to the decision to withdraw the Railcard concession on West Coast, I wonder?

I've obviously missed something. Which railcard concession are we talking about here?

 

[najaB]

I've obviously missed something. Which railcard concession are we talking about here?

I think you may have - here's some light reading. Enjoy!

 

[34D]

What on earth do they think a weekend at gran's involves?!

Eating cake of course!

 

[gavin]

The station announcers at Darlington are no Longer using 'East Coast' its just 'Virgin Trains' service to .......

 

[Saint66]

All of the posters in Leeds City centre on bus stops etc advertise Virgin Trains, and don't mention East Coast (Apart from the website), and have been like that for a week or two now.

 

[Rick1984]

How did passengers manage when all trains had the same Intercity livery?

 

[jopsuk]

There was just one company then... this is two legally separate companies using the same name

 

[backontrack]

Why not just drop the Virgin part completely, or call it 'East Coast by Virgin'?

 

[FordFocus]

That's like calling

Atlantic by Virgin
Media by Virgin
Holidays by Virgin
Health by Virgin



It's just not the same Virgin brand.

 

[backontrack]

Yeah, you're right. Still annoying though.

 

[JaJaWa]

The station announcers at Darlington are no Longer using 'East Coast' its just 'Virgin Trains' service to .......

Interesting because West Coast use "Virgin Pendolino to..."

Perhaps we'll get "Virgin Super Express to..." in the future!

 

[ainsworth74]

Interesting because West Coast use "Virgin Pendolino to..."

Perhaps we'll get "Virgin Super Express to..." in the future!

And perhaps 'Virgin Electra to...' for the Mk4s that they're proposing to keep on?

 

[backontrack]

How about 'Eastern Coast Electrics'?

 

[TUC]

I don't see why they feel the need to change. After all, First hasn't had a difficulty with differentiating First Trans Pennine Express, First Great Western etc (and yes, I know that First are phasing out use of the company name, but not for reasons of passenger confusion)

 

[ainsworth74]

I don't see why they feel the need to change. After all, First hasn't had a difficulty with differentiating First Trans Pennine Express, First Great Western etc (and yes, I know that First are phasing out use of the company name, but not for reasons of passenger confusion)

Mostly because Virgin West Coast are still calling themselves Virgin Trains and always have.

It's easier to deal with the First cluster of companies because none of them, to my knowledge, have ever referred to themselves just as 'First'. They've always been First TransPennine Express or what have you. Virgin on the other hand have always been Virgin Trains (or at least have been since they lost XC) and haven't bothered re-branding their West Coast operation.

 

[BurtonM]

I can't think of anywhere that First services have the same potential to confuse like at Waverley - GWR doesn't cross any other First services (if it even had the name any more), FCC doesn't exist now and even if it did it'd be hard to confuse it with Hull Trains at KGX, and again, Hull Trains and TPE isn't going to be that much of a problem at Doncaster etc.
Scotrail again, not First now, but that had a distinct livery from TPE.

 

[marks87]

I can't think of anywhere that First services have the same potential to confuse like at Waverley...

And yet passengers at Waverley seem to cope with three different services that terminate in Glasgow, with a fourth that goes "via".

I'm sure the number of people confused by the "same" company going to Euston and Kings Cross will be so small as to not be worth bothering about.

 

[bramling]

And yet passengers at Waverley seem to cope with three different services that terminate in Glasgow, with a fourth that goes "via".

I'm sure the number of people confused by the "same" company going to Euston and Kings Cross will be so small as to not be worth bothering about.

It's just another example of the waste investment in branding since privatisation. Like the nonsense of signage being taped up before a franchise change, or the endless livery/vinyl changes.

To be fair, some areas have been remarkably free from this (eg South West Trains), whilst others have seen many years of constant meddling, like Greater Anglia, NXEA, One etc.

 

[najaB]

It's just another example of the waste investment in branding since privatisation. Like the nonsense of signage being taped up before a franchise change, or the endless livery/vinyl changes.

If brand recognition drives passengers to the railway then I'm all for that kind of waste (which isn't really that much waste since trains have to be painted anyway).

 

[Bletchleyite]

If brand recognition drives passengers to the railway then I'm all for that kind of waste (which isn't really that much waste since trains have to be painted anyway).

It can also be a bit easier for passengers.

"Which train goes to Euston?"
"The big red and silver one over there."

Not

"Which train goes to Euston?"
"The blue and grey one over there that looks exactly the same as all the other blue and grey ones."

 

[BurtonM]

The way this discussion's going, you'd think platform numbers didn't exist...

 

[najaB]

The way this discussion's going, you'd think platform numbers didn't exist...

They do, but at many stations it's easier to say go up the stairs and look for the red and white train than it is to say Platform 8E (and yes, I'm looking at you Edinburgh Waverley!)

 

[bengley]

It can also be a bit easier for passengers.

"Which train goes to Euston?"
"The big red and silver one over there."

Not

"Which train goes to Euston?"
"The blue and grey one over there that looks exactly the same as all the other blue and grey ones."

I don't think anyone in the history of time has ever told a passenger where their train is by describing the livery.

 

[najaB]

I don't think anyone in the history of time has ever told a passenger where their train is by describing the livery.

I've heard it.