TRANSPORT - TRAINS - VIRGIN

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Passengers on Virgin's tilting trains are facing hot, smelly and "uncomfortable" journeys, according to the managing director, Charles Belcher. An internal memo from Mr Belcher warns that travellers on some of the new Pendolino services between London and Scotland will have to put up with pungent lavatories and an eccentric air-conditioning system that is prone to blowing warm air at passengers when temperatures rise. This winter, the bizarre mechanism often switched heating off when temperatures dipped below zero and refused to come back on until the coach had warmed up, the note reveals.

The Pendolino trains have been hit by problems since the 125mph service was introduced amid much fanfare. The first in a series of mishaps occurred when a train hit a buffer at Lime Street Station in Liverpool. Several passengers were injured. A 110mph limit was subsequently imposed on the London-to-Glasgow west coast main line after a warning from the Health and Safety Executive. The company also met Tony McNulty, a Transport minister, to discuss concerns about the trains. The memo sets out a range of problems afflicting the Pendolino toilets and a timetable for fixing them.

Toilets were often locked when sensors incorrectly showed waste tanks full. At the depot, sometimes the waste tanks were not emptied. The supplier of the equipment took "many weeks" to complete repairs. Among the other problems are: spillages from incorrectly installed pipe-work; depot staff not properly trained and customers blocking the toilets by flushing rubbish down them. Doors have tended to jam on their runners. Mr Belcher's memo said, "Many key components within the system failed, in particular the sensors that monitor the exterior ambient temperature, controlling the temperature in each vehicle. The defects caused the system to increase the heat, wrongly thinking the temperature was low."

Mr Belcher insists many of the problems have been solved. However, he warns, "There may be some uncomfortable journeys if there is warm weather before then." The managing director points out punctuality and reliability have improved after initial problems. More than 82% of trains are arriving on time and more than 97% of scheduled services are running. He said there was no room for complacency, but revenue was growing at 20% and the volume of complaints were half those at the same time the previous year. Barrie Clement

A Virgin express train was so full that TEN people packed into a toilet. One sat on the loo and the others crammed in like sardines around him. Computer worker Paul Downing boarded the 12.51 Edinburgh to Exeter service at Preston. He said, “It was so crowded you would not want an animal to travel on it (in fact, it would be illegal). All the aisles were packed with people standing. Passengers sat on every inch of floor. One toilet was out of order and the other was crammed with people who had nowhere else to go. It was a large cubicle to allow wheelchair access but it was never meant to be so full. There must have been at least ten in there. I squeezed in on the gangway outside.”

The train, consisting of just four coaches, was running 30 minutes late (of course) because of the number getting on and off at each station, said Paul, from Suffolk. One woman was sitting on the floor trying to feed her baby. Virgin Rail said, “There was an unexpected and particularly heavy demand for this train. The train manager can turn passengers away in extreme circumstances but this is not a popular move. We apologise to customers who were inconvenienced.” No compensation though!

Virgin Trains was accused of abusing its monopoly on routes from north west England to London. The North West Rail Passengers Committee demanded Government intervention to prevent further fare rises. Chairman Brendan O'Friel said the company had raised walk-on fares, paid by those travelling at short notice, by 70% in just four years. "That is 60% more than inflation. We think this is completely unjustified and many passengers are seriously disadvantaged by this piece of exploitation, Price rises would be acceptable if new trains were up and running." he said. "But actually last year we had a dreadful time from trains, one of the worse since the war, and on top of that Virgin put up the fares last May by 10%."

Mr O'Friel called on the rail regulator to investigate Virgin's pricing, accusing the company of exploiting its monopoly, "We are not completely clear what the regulator can and will do. What we know is that monopoly exploitation is against the law in this country," he said. "Virgin have exploited their monopoly and we believe therefore that something should be done - either by freezing or instructing that their fares should be reduced."

Virgin, which runs trains from Derby to Scotland and the south west, cancelled 280% more trains last year than the year before. The company axed 890 services in the first nine months of 2001. That compared to 234 cancellations during the corresponding period in 2000, making Virgin Cross Country the second worst in the country, said Lib Dem transport spokesman Don Foster. Midland Mainline cancelled 456 trains in the same period last year, compared to 307 the year before – a 49% increase.

The figures follow statistics released by the Lib Dems showing that Virgin Cross Country was the least punctual operator in the UK during the period and MML was third worst. Mr Foster, who compiled the figures from Parliamentary answers, said, “There’s only one thing worse than a delayed train – it’s a train that doesn’t turn up at all.” MML said that it had just achieved its best punctuality figures since the Hatfield crash in 2000. Virgin Cross Country blamed its old rolling stock and said that its new Voyager trains should cut cancellations and delays.