The familiar red livery of Virgin Trains is set to disappear from the West Coast line after the company behind the venture has been barred from bidding from the franchise.
Virgin Trains had its bid to continue the franchise from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, North Wales, Glasgow and Edinburgh rejected after its partner in the venture Stagecoach was prevented from bidding by the Department for Transport (DfT) because they did not meet pensions rules.
Sir Richard Branson whose Virgin owns a 51 per cent stake in the venture has said he is “devastated” by the decision, adding: “This means that Virgin Trains could be gone from the UK in November.
“I am devastated for the teams who have worked tirelessly to make Virgin Trains one of the best train companies in the UK, if not the world.
Stagecoach said it was told by the DfT that it had been barred from the East Midlands, South Eastern and West Coast franchise competitions after submitting non-compliant bids “principally in respect of pensions risk”.
Virgin Trains have been running in the route since 1997.
