Introducing tilting trains was a key element of Virgin Trains’ plan to improve journey times and frequencies on the West Coast Main Line. STEVEN KNIGHT was Virgin Trains’ PR Project Manager for the high profile Pendolino launch in 2004. He explains how it delivered the Virgin Difference
The Virgin plan for the West Coast franchise was radical and pushed the boundaries of rail franchising: the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line and a fleet of 140mph tilting trains.
There were challenges along the way, rising costs and the collapse of Railtrack along with a reduction in maximum track speed to 125mph amongst them but the Virgin Trains PR strategy was to ensure that the key stages of the investment project were marked with memorable events.
It would have been far easier to do a series of low profile train previews at stations, but that was not the Virgin way of doing things. Events had to be high-profile and have impact. They needed to make an otherwise negative media at the time take notice.
The Virgin Trains’ media team consisted of talented individuals with both railway and non-railway experience. The dynamic mix ensured that the generally accepted, and historic, PR convention for events was consigned …
