Virgin plots return with West Coast main line proposal – report

Virgin Trains are plotting a return to the UK’s West Coast main line, according to reports.

Virgin operated the service, which runs from London Euston via Birmingham and Manchester to Scotland, for 22 years before losing the franchise to Avanti West Coast in 2019.

However, reports over the weekend suggested Virgin Group had applied to the Office of Rail and Road for an Open Access license.

Under this type of licence, the operator receives no subsidy and runs services itself, alongside a franchised operator, such as Avanti, at its own risk.

Open access operators run services independently of government funding as they do not have a franchise agreement with government.

Following reports in several media outlets over the weekend, a spokesperson for Virgin Group said: "While this application is just the first step towards exploring what might be possible, we think Open Access is the way forward.

"Open Access increases consumer choice and competition both of which Virgin has always supported."