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In March 2020, Virgin withdrew its application for the service, citing uncertainty from the Williams Review of rail not having been published yet. In July 2016 the integrated infotainment system BEAM was provided on all trains by GoMedia, delivered directly to the passenger’s own devices including mobile phones and tablets. In August 2019, the First Trenitalia consortium was awarded the West Coast Partnership contract, with Avanti West Coast commencing in December 2019, thus ending Virgin Trains services after 22 years. The bid for the new franchise was led by Stagecoach holding a 50% holding, Virgin with 30% and the French national railway operator SNCF holding 20%. The Department for Transport requires that the new operator have experience in operating high-speed trains (155 mph (249 km/h)) and infrastructure.

All Virgin trains feature WiFi (free in first class), power sockets (all first class, tables only in standard), bike storage, luggage space, toilets, onboard shop and a quiet zone. Pendolino trains are used on the London Euston, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow service while the Super Voyager trains run on the London Euston, Chester, North Wales, West Midlands, Scotland line. Until its expiry in March 2012, this prevented any other train operating or open access companies operating services in competition that would abstract revenue. Virgin had long been angling for a franchise extension in return for ordering extra carriages for the Class 390 Pendolinos. In December 2010 one four-carriage Class 221 Super Voyager was disbanded with the two centre carriages being inserted into the other four-carriage sets to give Virgin a fleet of twenty five-carriage Class 221 Super Voyagers.

The service was available free in first class, and for a charge (which varied depending on how long the passenger wished to use it for) in standard class. In August 2008 Bombardier started a programme to rearrange the Class 221 Super Voyagers with the carriage containing the shop moved to adjoin the first class carriage and refurbished with 2+2 seats arranged more spaciously around tables. With the Class 390 Pendolinos needing modification in 2006, a First GBRf Class 87 was hired to haul a Mark 3 set on Birmingham New Street services.

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Virgin inherited a fleet of Class 86, Class 87 and Class 90s hauling Mark 2 and Mark 3 carriages with Driving Van Trailers on its electrified services and High Speed Trains for London Euston to Holyhead services. On 23 July 2002, the first elements of the new fleet of Pendolino tilting trains were introduced into passenger services from Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly, intentionally coinciding with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. This allowed it to be used as a first class carriage on Holyhead services and as a standard class carriage at other times.full citation needed With the exception of services to Holyhead, the final locomotive hauled trains were withdrawn in June 2005.full citation needed In December 2007, as part of a reshuffle of rail franchises by the Department for Transport, services from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central via Crewe were transferred from the CrossCountry franchise to the InterCity West Coast franchise. Virgin said it planned to launch rail services from London St Pancras to Europe from 2030.

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• In May 1998, Virgin introduced two new services from London Euston, to Shrewsbury and to Blackpool North.
• During November 2016, the franchise was further extended until March 2019.
• As a way of protecting the revenues of Virgin Trains to enable it to pay franchise premiums to the government to partly recoup the cost of the West Coast Main Line upgrade, the Office of Rail Regulation inserted a Moderation of Competition in Virgin’s Track Access Agreement.
• It was expected that the Pendolinos would run at service speeds of up to 140 mph (225 km/h) and that the whole fleet would be delivered by May 2002.

To operate the Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh and Glasgow services transferred from CrossCountry in December 2007, three four-carriage and thirteen five-carriage Class 221 Super Voyagers were transferred. In September 2004 the High Speed Trains were withdrawn with services being operated by a combination of five-carriage Class 221 Super Voyagers hired from Virgin CrossCountry and Class 47 and Class 90 hauled Mark 3 sets. To operate the Holyhead services four four-carriage Class 221 Super Voyagers were included in the order placed by Virgin CrossCountry. A franchise commitment was the replacement of these trains with new tilting stock. In August 2019, it was announced that the Inter-City West Coast franchise had been awarded to Avanti West Coast, thus confirming that Virgin Trains would cease to operate trains after 7 December 2019. In July 2013, the Office of Rail Regulation rejected an application by Virgin Trains to chicken road demo operate new services to Shrewsbury and Blackpool North, citing capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line.

From 9 December 2013 it was utilised to operate a London Euston-Birmingham New Street train on Thursdays and Fridays only, until its withdrawal in October 2014. Virgin used this set with a Class 90 locomotive hired from Freightliner on a Euston to Crewe (via Birmingham) service on Fridays only until December 2012. Following the loss of a Class 390 Pendolino in the Grayrigg derailment, a Mark 3 set with a Driving Van Trailer was leased with a Class 90 hired from English Welsh & Scottish as required. A further five five-carriage Class 221 Super Voyagers followed in December 2008.full citation needed By the time they were delivered it was decided these would be too short so they entered service with Virgin CrossCountry.

Previously, the ORR had said the Temple Mills depot had enough space to either house an expanded Eurostar fleet or accommodate a rival company’s trains – but not both. Temple Mills railway storehouse in east London is the only depot in the UK able to accommodate the larger trains used in continental Europe and which is already linked to the cross-Channel line. Virgin Trains has moved closer to being able to run rail services through the Channel Tunnel after the regulator approved its application to share a depot with Eurostar.

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In March 2013, the Secretary of State announced that the franchise would again be extended until 31 March 2017. In December 2012, Virgin was awarded a 23-month management contract to run the franchise until 9 November 2014. The government announced that it would negotiate with Virgin Trains to run the InterCity West Coast franchise for a further 9 to 13 months. Virgin spoke out against this decision, claiming that the methodology used to award the franchise was flawed, while Richard Branson stated that it was unlikely Virgin would bid for any future franchises. An Invitation to tender was issued to the shortlisted bidders in January 2012, and the Department for Transport awarded FirstGroup the new franchise in August 2012. In October 2011, the Department announced that Virgin had been granted a franchise extension until December 2012.