Plea for Virgin to retake north Wales train services13 hours ago By Gareth Wyn Williams , George Herd , BBC News ShareGetty Images Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group was responsible for running London-north Wales rail services for 20 yearsBusiness leaders want Sir Richard Branson to retake north Wales to London rail services after it was revealed more than one in five direct trains were being cancelled. Virgin said it would "welcome the opportunity to discuss what is needed", and is "extremely proud of our time serving the passengers of north Wales". Last year Avanti West Coast was ordered to develop a recovery plan, aimed at addressing poor performance on vital routes. Under this type of licence, a firm does not receive any state subsidies and takes on the risk of running a rail service itself. It added that performance on the north Wales route had been impacted by the additional training required to launch the new Evero fleet.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 18, 2024 00:15 UTC