Richard Scott - **HAS LEFT**

Said the following about Virgin Trains News Team:

“In an industry beset with reputational crises and public misunderstanding, Virgin Trains has stood out from the crowd. Over the last year, its Media Team has worked tirelessly to explain the positive role Virgin plays to a frequently hostile media, demonstrating how the company and its people prioritise customers, consistently innovate, support the economy and communities they serve, while providing thought-leadership in response to widespread calls for industry reform. The coverage it has achieved through proactive engagement with the media has helped to show UK Rail in a much-needed positive light. Whilst this has not silenced the vocal criticism frequently levelled at Virgin Trains and the wider industry, it has provided a much-needed counter narrative to balance this criticism and demonstrate the positive role rail can play in today’s society.

The examples below illustrate some of the key achievements over the last year. The list is not exclusive and does not capture much of the day-to-day activity of the team, but does show has Virgin Trains has managed to get on the front foot and define debates in some key areas.

Williams Rail Review submission

Virgin Trains’ submission to the Williams Rail Review included radical proposals to abolish overcrowding, overhaul ticketing regulations and replace franchising with a system of auctioning train paths to privately owned and managed operators. This provoked widespread national discussion through coverage in nearly all national media outlets, including the front page of the Daily Telegraph. In total there were 122 media hits on this story.

VHF timetable report by Campaign for Better Transport

The launch of the Virgin High Frequency (VHF) timetable in 2008 ushered in a new era of faster, more frequent services on the Virgin Trains network, leading to unprecedented passenger growth and supporting the development of HS2. A decade later, Virgin commissioned Campaign for Better Transport to report on why the timetable was so successful, its wider impact in shifting Britain’s economic geography and lessons to be learned for future timetable development. The report (https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/Transformation-of-the-West-Coast-Mainline.pdf) was covered that week by nearly 50 print and broadcast media outlets in glowing terms, helping to provide a positive case study demonstrating the impact of rail investment and the industry working at its best.

Lifting of the Friday peak

After a trial in the summer 2018, Virgin Trains abolished Friday afternoon peak restrictions permanently, making it easier for customers to undertake spontaneous weekend journeys. The announcement was covered by BBC’s The World at One, the Times, The Independent and received 100 media hits.

Ban the Box

Over the last five years, Virgin Trains has built a reputation as a progressive employer, winning widespread recognition for its proactive work to recruit people with criminal convictions. In January, it worked with Business in the Community to highlight research questioning the need for criminal declaration tick boxes on job application forms. This prompted more than 50 items of local and national positive coverage, including the Times, Metro, Daily Record and an extended discussion on Radio 5.

Vegans

Virgin Trains announced that it would be the UK’s first train operator to offer vegan options on all its menus and services in December, promoting positive national media coverage in the Sun, Metro, Daily Mail, The Herald, and Manchester Evening News among others.

Bodycams

Wide ranging coverage of our introduction of Body Worn Video to our frontline teams. This was featured heavily on BBC Breakfast, Channel 5 News, The Metro and across regional media.

Train manager solves war mystery

Our human interest story about one of our Train Managers (and amateur historian) who used detective work to find a lost grave of war hero after a chance meeting with his grand-daughter when she told him the story while traveling on a Virgin service to London featured in The Express and on ITV Regional News. ITN revisited the story when Virgin Trains took her to France to see the grave for the first time.

Toilet humour

Our quirky piece on strange items flushed down train toilets (including a bra and a Man United scarf) received widespread coverage nationally with hits across online titles including The Sun, The Huffington Post and Sky News.

Event hosts

The introduction of Event Hosts on busy football match days was covered widely across media including BBC Breakfast, The Times and The Sun online. Media picked up on the fact they had been trained in conflict resolution techniques and wear pink high visibility vests as the colour calms down crowds.

Change Please coffee

Sky News produced a news feature on our partnership with Change Please coffee. The profits of the coffee sold on our trains has gone towards training those who have experienced homeless as baristas. The story was also covered by the Mail Online, Reuters as well as Trade Press.

JourneyCare for Alexa

The news that you could book JourneyCare after purchasing tickets on Amazon Alexa was also carried by many outlets nationally and regionally. They focused on the fact that this innovation would be good for the visually impaired and those with disabilities. It was featured on Radio 4’s In Touch programme – which caters for news, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.

The Jam Card scheme

Our introduction of The Jam Card scheme – a initiative for those with communication issues - was also picked up widely by media including the Evening Standard and regional media.

Track n Travel/ Back on Track

The introduction of an App called Back on Track, for staff to help them during times of disruption and a new online feature, called Track ‘n’ Travel, for customers to update them on delays was covered by national and regional media - led by an in-depth article by the Independent’s Simon Calder.

Uniforms upcycled for the homeless

We upcycled our old uniforms into blankets, sleeping bags and dog coats to give to the homeless and this news was covered extensively in The Metro, The Big Issue and across regional media.“