West Coast Rail Operator Looks to Bring Industry-Leading Performance to East Coast

LONDON, June 23, 2010 - As it prepares its bid to run services on the East Coast rail route,
independent research has once again shown Virgin Trains rated as best
long-distance franchise operator for overall customer satisfaction and value
for money.

Carried out twice a year by rail watchdog Passenger Focus, the National
Passenger Survey is a key marker of train operating companies' performance.

For the second survey in a row, passengers gave Virgin Trains the highest
rating of any long-distance franchise operator when asked about how satisfied
they were with their overall journey - 90% of those questioned rated Virgin
Trains as 'satisfactory' or 'good'.

For the sixth survey in a row, passengers rated Virgin Trains as offering
the best value-for-money of any long-distance franchise operator - 63% of
those questioned rated Virgin Trains as 'satisfactory' or 'good'.

Paul Furze-Waddock, Virgin Trains' Business Development Director said:

"To see that our customers consistently rate us so highly is a fantastic
endorsement of the Virgin Trains approach, which combines financial stability
with investment, innovation and customer service.

"Virgin Trains brought a fresh approach to the rail industry when we won
the West Coast franchise in 1997. To be honest, people thought it was mad for
rail novices at Virgin to be so ambitious, with our plans for tilting trains
and shorter journey times. But we delivered.

"Now we're meeting as many people as possible on the East Coast to
develop ideas for improvements on that route and intend to put in a strong
proposal to the Department for Transport for running East Coast services.
We're delivering for West Coast passengers, now we want to do the same for
those using the East Coast."

Notes for editors:

Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group, which is owned 51
percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach.

Virgin Trains has operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since
1997; the current franchise runs to March 2012.

Images of Virgin Trains and the company's operations are available in the
Image Library on the online Media Room website
www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room/ where you can also subscribe
to receive alerts to new press releases.

The National Passenger Survey can be viewed here:

www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/nps/content.asp

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/