Fitch on board for Virgin train station design work

Fitch is branding 17 Virgin-run train stations, as the operator makes its biggest investment in the design of its stations since it won the rail franchise in 1997.

Work, which will see the group extend the Virgin train brand experience beyond the trains themselves, will be unveiled from late September. Station branding could be rolled out to a further 113 stations that Virgin travels through over the next two years.

“This is our biggest investment in our stations and follows on from the investment made in our trains,” says Virgin Trains marketing communications manager Clodagh Buckley. Priestman Goode created two tilting models.

“We want to take the brand values of our new trains and apply them to our stations to create one experience from start to finish.”

Fitch is to look at all aspects of the departure and arrivals experience including maps, tickets, wayfinding systems, information provision, ticket purchasing and the station environment itself.

“We are trying to define the total Virgin customer experience. Wherever Virgin has the potential to control the customer experience it will. Where it can’t, at stations it does not have direct control of, there will be some element of Virgin branding, such as Virgin staff or signage,” says Fitch business development director Robin Kadrnka.

Fitch won the work via a credentials pitch against two undisclosed rivals.

Fitch’s appointment follows the launch of a joint venture between Railtrack Travel and FirstGroup and Totaljourney, in June, for which the group created the branding and website.