Following negotiations with several manufacturers, Virgin placed an order with Alstom/Fiat Ferroviaria to produce the envisioned tilting train, which was known by the name Pendolino and was later designated under TOPS as the Class 390.

[6] The service introduction of the Pendolino was repeatedly delayed, a fact which has been attributed to the poor project management and the collapse of infrastructure owner Railtrack.

[9][10] Railtrack would ultimately collapse while its successor, Network Rail, would also be unable to fully deliver the promised upgrade, heavily impacting Virgin West Coast's operations.

[16][17] During January 2002, the Strategic Rail Authority scrapped the refranchising process and awarded a two-year extension to GNER.

[18] In the wake of the collapse of Railtrack and the inability of Network Rail to deliver on the 140 mph (225 km/h) West Coast Main Line upgrade, both the Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast franchises were suspended in favour of management contracts in July 2002.

[24] After Sea Containers was stripped of the East Coast franchise due to poor financial management,[25] Virgin was again shortlisted for the InterCity East Coast franchise in February 2007, submitting a bid had a 10% shareholding by the incumbent, Sea Containers.

[26][27] During July 2008, Virgin was awarded a contract by the DfT to manage the introduction of 106 extra Class 390 Pendolino carriages.

[38] While preparing its case for the judicial review, the government discovered significant technical flaws in the way the franchise process had been conducted, and cancelled the competition, vindicating Virgin's protests.

Virgin Rail Group responded to this by offering a voucher worth £20 to allow employees to purchase a top to wear underneath the new blouses.

[60][61] In October 2023, the High Court in London ruled in favour of Virgin, and awarded the company $115 million in damages.