Press release —
Phil Whittingham appointed Virgin Trains West Coast MD
Phil Whittingham has been appointed as Managing Director for the Virgin Trains West Coast franchise. Phil has been Lead Executive at Virgin Trains for the last year, during which time he has led the company through negotiations for a new franchise which concluded successfully with the Department for Transport in June.
Phil has also overseen the launch of the new services to Shrewsbury and Blackpool and been involved with the successful bid by the Virgin/Stagecoach partnership to run the East Coast franchise.
Patrick McCall, Co-Chairman Virgin Trains, said, “I’m delighted Phil has been appointed as Managing Director of our West Coast franchise. Phil has worked hard leading Virgin Trains over the last twelve months. We have launched new services and a host of improvements and enhancements are coming soon. I know he will do a terrific job in taking Virgin Trains forward.”
Martin Griffiths, Co-Chairman, added: "The next few years are hugely exciting for our customers on the West Coast route. Millions of passengers will benefit from thousands of extra seats, new services and free super fast connectivity. I'm delighted we have Phil in place to lead the team which will deliver more of the innovations that have seen Virgin Trains set the benchmark for inter-city rail travel in the UK."
Phil has worked for Virgin Trains since 1999, when he joined as a management accountant from KPMG. He was made Head of Strategy and Planning before becoming the Finance Director and subsequently Lead Executive. Phil’s role as MD will see him continue to lead a team of 6 executive directors and work in parallel with David Horne, who has been confirmed as MD of Virgin Trains East Coast.
Topics
- Business enterprise
Categories
- business news
- west coast
About Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned by Virgin Group (51%) and Stagecoach (49%). Virgin Trains has operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997, serving key UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. In June 2014 the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded VRG a new franchise until at least April 2017.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. We provide the most frequent long-distance rail service in Europe (London - Manchester and London – Birmingham, both every 20 minutes).
Since 1997, Virgin Trains has introduced over 70 new trains at a cost of £1.5 billion. The service carries more than 32 million passengers a year and Virgin Trains employs approximately 3,290 staff.
