Passengers Love Virgin Trains and Staff but Want Better Stations

LONDON, February 4 - Virgin Trains passengers have given a big thumbs up to the trains, staff
and value for money for price of ticket, but they have made clear they
desperately want to see the same standards at stations. These details are
contained in the latest National Passenger Survey from rail watchdog
Passenger Focus, published today.

Virgin Trains has been rated top of long-distance rail franchisees on
'value for money for the price of your ticket' and joint top on 'overall
satisfaction'. Virgin has been rated first or second on almost all aspects
relating to trains - such as 'provision of information during the journey'
and 'comfort of seating area', and first or second on around half of aspects
relating to stations - such as 'connections with other public transport'.

Eighty nine percent of passengers are satisfied with their overall
experience with Virgin Trains, compared to 84% a year earlier. Sixty four
percent of passengers are satisfied with the value for money tickets for
Virgin Trains represent, up from 56% a year earlier and higher than any other
operator. Virgin Trains staff also received some of the highest scores for
helpfulness.

But the gap between the standards on trains and those at stations has
widened. Scores for stations used by Virgin Trains' passengers are below
average in several areas affected by the condition of the stations. The
results prompted a repeat of earlier calls by Virgin Trains to be allowed to
take greater control of long-neglected stations, and bring them up to the
levels of trains. Virgin Trains has day-to-day responsibility for managing 17
of the 43 stations it serves, but currently relies on Network Rail for major
improvements. Virgin Trains believes that, as operator, it should take on
this role.

Virgin Trains Chief Executive Tony Collins said: "The thumbs up for our
trains and staff is great news, but I share our passengers' frustration at
the state of our stations and facilities. I know from personal contact with
our station staff that they would also like to see better station facilities
and I am confident that with the right investment at stations they will
deliver an even better service for our customers.

"That's why we support the plan of Transport Secretary Lord Adonis to
improve the quality and facilities at stations up to 21st Century standards.
We have long argued that longer franchises and allowing train operators to
invest in stations, would act as the catalyst to station improvements, which
in turn could drive wider regional regeneration. It is encouraging that Lord
Adonis shares this vision and is prepared to find ways of making it happen."

One key driver of the satisfaction results is the Virgin High Frequency
timetable, introduced in December 2008. This saw journey times reduced, and
an increase of over 30% in train services has seen frequency of trains score
86% (up from 81% in autumn 2008). Speed of trains has received a record score
of 93% (up from 82% a year ago); with a massive improvement in train
punctuality and reliability, to 90% against an 82% score in the previous
autumn survey. The London to Manchester and London to Birmingham routes now
have a train every 20 minutes, which has been described by Brendan Fox Editor
of the Thomas Cook European Timetable as the "most frequent inter city
timetable in Europe".

An example of the benefits of greater operator involvement is the surge
in satisfaction scores for car parking at Virgin Trains stations. This
follows an investment of over GBP90 million increasing the number of car
parking spaces at stations, with almost 3000 extra spaces already delivered.
The investment with Network Rail has seen passenger satisfaction on
facilities for car parking score 56 percent - an increase of 13 percent since
the autumn 2008 survey.

    Category                                        Virgin   Average   Virgin
                                                    Trains     long    Trains
                                                    score % distance first or
                                                           franchisee  second
                                                           score % among long
                                                                     distance
                                                                  franchisees
    Overall
    Overall satisfaction                               89      87         Yes
    Trains
    Train - the frequency of trains on the route       86      82         Yes
    Train - punctuality and reliability                90      87         Yes
    Train - journey time (speed)                       93      88         Yes
    Train - connections with other train services      84      77         Yes
    Train - value for money for price of ticket        64      57         Yes
    Train - cleanliness of the train                   89      82         Yes
    Train - upkeep and repair                          88      82         Yes
    Train - provision of information during journey    80      75         Yes
    Train - helpfulness and attitude of on train staff 82      77         Yes
    Train - space for luggage                          50      51
    Train - toilet facilities                          58      52         Yes
    Train - room for passengers                        77      71         Yes
    Train - comfort of seating area                    80      78         Yes
    Train - ease of getting on and off                 87      82         Yes
    Train - personal security while on board           85      83         Yes
    Train - cleanliness of the inside                  88      81         Yes
    Train - cleanliness of the outside                 84      79         Yes
    Train - the availability of staff on the train     70      64         Yes
    Train - how well train company dealt with delays   54      46         Yes
    Stations
    Station - ticket buying facilities                 79      80
    Station - provision of information on train times  85      85         Yes
    Station - upkeep and repair of buildings           69      73
    Station - cleanliness                              74      78
    Station - facilities and services                  66      65         Yes
    Station - attitudes and helpfulness of staff       74      76
    Station - connections with other public transport  79      74         Yes
    Station - facilities for car parking               56      53         Yes
    Station - the overall environment                  70      74
    Station - your personal security whilst
    using station                                      73      72         Yes
    Station - the availability of staff                63      66
    Station - how requests to staff were handled       87      88

Notes to Editors

Images of Virgin Trains and the company's operations are available in the
Image Library on our online Media Room website
www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room/

You can subscribe to receive alerts to new press releases by visiting
www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room/

Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group. We have operated
the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997; the current franchise
runs to March 2012.

Virgin Rail Group is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by
Stagecoach.

Virgin Trains has been recognised in numerous industry awards. On 19
January 2010 the company was named Best Rail Operator of the Year at the
Travel Globe Awards, voted for by readers of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday
and Evening Standard. In 2009 Virgin Trains was voted Best UK Domestic Train
Service by Business Traveller magazine for the second year running; and named
Best Rail Operator in the 2009 Group Leisure Awards, run by Group Leisure,
the magazine for group travel organisers.

For further media information contact the Virgin Trains Press Office on +44(0)845-000-3333 or visit our Media Room website at www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room/