Virgin Voyager

Advantages: New, fast at acclerating, Virgin Cross Country's alot more frequent than before with at least 1 every 2 hours (varies on location).
Disadvantages: Voyagers are 4-car and Super Voyagers are 5-car, but are generally really good to be on.

...FRANCHISES Virgin Trains (VT) is split up into two franchises. Virgin Cross Country, which runs trains between Glasgow/Edinburgh, Carlisle/Newcastle, Preston/York, Crewe/Derby, Birmingham to destinations such as Bristol, Reading, Bournemouth, Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance. Virgin Cross Country also runs trains to/from Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh to destinations above. THE TYPE OF TRAIN WHICH I'M REVIEWING- Virgin Cross Country uses class 220 Voyager ...
...of your next journey with Virgin Cross Country. This means the train leans into a curve, meaning it can go even faster round curve's than the older trains which are no longer in service with Virgin. INSIDE, STANDARD CLASS Inside, in Standard Class, the seats are mainly in "airline" configuration, meaning you get 2 seats together, without a table. There are still a small amount of table seats, aranged with 4 seats around a table. FIRST CLASS In First ... Read review

Advantages: A punctual service
Disadvantages: Some seating issues for the taller person

VIRGIN VOYAGER My latest journey to Birmingham New Street on the Virgin Voyager cost £62 return. I departed on the 7:29 “cross country” train from Preston in Lancashire. Preston and Birmingham are on many of the “cross country” train routes which make up one of the national franchises which were awarded following rail privatisation. The Voyager train was intended to upgrade “cross country” travel when introduced earlier in the noughties. Although ...
...existing ageing virgin fleet, these were modern trains with better acceleration and more comfortable facilities on board. Whenever, I have travelled on the Voyager I have found them generally comfortable, although they did seem to go through a phase of overcrowding a few years ago. Virgin were expected to have a fifteen year “cross country” franchise ifrom 1997, and coming from the North West of England, I can confirm that Preston is an important ... Read review

Advantages: Looks good, clean, bright - and new!
Disadvantages: Some missed opportunities

...you who have travelled via Virgin Trains lately might have had the fortune to sample one of their new Voyager trains. The new Voyagers have been in service for about nine months now, and as time goes on the depleted and ailing Virgin rolling stock is being replaced with these sparkling new trains. The Voyagers are currently only operating on certain routes in the UK, but of late, I have noticed more and more of them starting to appear. If you have ...
...question is, of course, whether Virgin has exploited every opportunity to upgrade the network. APPEARANCE One thing is for sure – you certainly can’t miss these trains. Compared to most of the rolling stock in use on today’s network, the Voyagers are positively space-age in appearance. The main carriages are greyish-silver, with tinted window and sleek styling. The doors in and out of the trains are electric sliding doors, which ... Read review

Advantages: new trains, headphone sockets, electric sockets, shop
Disadvantages: puctuality, sometimes smelly, not as many carriages

Virgin trains. Well, what can I say? What a change? I had so many problems with Virgin that I stopped calling committee meetings for our union in Birmingham. It was getting so bad that trains didn't turn up/were cancelled/turned up late or were full when they arrived because the previous train had been cancelled. The last straw came when we were turfed off at Derby because there had been an incident near Sheffield, so we had to travel by coach from ...
...meeting places soon, because of Virgin Voyager trains. OLD TRAINS Mostly old, late, dirty, full, uncomfortable seats, smelly, noisy, rattly diesel trains. NEW TRAINS New, streamlined trains that don't make much noise. The seats are more comfortable and have a plug in socket in between the pairs of seats for the headphones that you either bring yourself or buy from the Virgin shop on board. You get Virgin Radio on here- very good for part of the ... Read review

Advantages: Comfort, space, reliability
Disadvantages: Getting to the train station!

...rail travel... but the new Virgin Voyager is something I really do enjoy. I have to commute Oxford - Birmingham quite often, and the trains along this route are being replaced at a rate of 1 per week with the new Virgin Voyager Trains. This replacement plan is due to finish in a few months' time, with increased trains and much improved reliability. Each train is costing virgin £4million, but it is worth every penny. The improvement is noticable ...
...each carriage has an electronic display in the window stating it's destination and stations on route. When you board the trains, each pair of seats has a display above showing whether the seat is reserved, and if so, the name of the passenger. This ensures that reservation cards are not removed by people wanting the seat, and your seat is always clearly marked. Each seat has a fantastic seat pitch (i.e. space between the seat and the back of the ... Read review