Tony Collins is in danger of getting knocked over by a herd of passengers racing along platform four at Euston station. Given the problems that train travellers have suffered on the West Coast Main Line this year, the chief executive of Virgin Trains is taking his life in his hands getting so close to his passengers.

But is the long-awaited end of the train operator's problems finally in sight? In less than two months, Virgin Trains will be running on an upgraded line, with a new timetable boasting three trains an hour to Manchester and Birmingham and a sub-two hour journey time to Manchester.

Yet the red-liveried train company, 51 per cent owned by Sir Richard Branson, Britain's most tireless self-promoter and entrepreneur, is keeping quiet about the changes. There will be no fanfare, advertising campaign or hoo-ha, at least until spring.

According to Brian Souter, who, as chief executive of Stagecoach, the 49 per cent owner of Virgin Trains, is Mr Collins's other boss, there are doubts that Network Rail can deliver a consistently performing railway, even if it does finish the upgrade on time.

The big fear is that passengers will be tempted by new journey times and more trains, only to find themselves stuck for hours between Milton Keynes and Rugby as yet another signalling problem is fixed. Virgin and Stagecoach are determined that this will not become Terminal 5 mark II.

Frankly, Virgin Trains would have preferred the new timetable was not brought in until May, giving Network Rail more time to get used to running the improved train set. In a concession to Virgin's concerns, a truncated timetable — 94 per cent of the one proposed — will be introduced on December 14, which will allow for a spare train to be kept at Euston in case anything goes wrong.

For certain, nothing could be quite as bad as last Christmas when, after a 12-day shutdown of the line, Network Rail was unable to hand it back on time to the train operator, causing disruption to hundreds of thousands of travellers.

Mr Collins is reluctant to condemn entirely the rail infrastructure group in whose hands he will once again place Virgin Trains's reputation. “Network Rail took on the mess that was Railtrack and has done a really good job of creating some good performance out of that — until the start of this year. The West Coast upgrade has been 90 per cent successful, but unfortunately it is the 10 per cent that affects our passengers and that is what they remember,” he says.

He wants to put the catalogue of disruption that continued through Easter and over the summer behind him. “All we can do is apologise to the passengers. It should get a lot lot easier [from now],” Mr Collins says.

He believes that the industry has learnt a lot of hard lessons during the past 12 months. “And these lessons do need to be learnt because we need to add a lot more capacity. We have to be able to do engineering projects as an industry efficiently and not disrupt our passen- gers to the extent that we have done over the last few months.”

When Virgin Trains introduced its tilting Pendolino trains in September 2004 there was scepticism from passengers and the industry. Four years later and the train operator claims that two thirds of passengers now take the train, rather than fly, between London and Manchester.

The new timetable should allow Virgin to take even more market share. But things have not panned out exactly as the train operator would have liked and there remain question marks over Sir Richard Branson's long-term commitment to rail.

Virgin Trains lobbied hard to be allowed to extend its franchise by two years in return for managing the project to lengthen trains on the route. However, the Government slapped back its pleas, suggesting it would not reward the operator's past mistakes.

A competition for a new franchise is likely to start in October 2010, with the winner taking control in spring 2012. However, observers believe that if Virgin does not win, it will be the end of its long-distance rail adventure and Sir Richard will leave the public transport arena. “I think for both Virgin and Stagecoach it is very important [to win it]. It is make or break. We were hugely disappointed not to retain Cross Country trains ,” Mr Collins says.

“Clearly Stagecoach has a big interest in the railways and rail is core to its business. But Sir Richard and the Virgin team are still passionate about railways,” he says.

As Geoff Hoon, the new Transport Secretary, settles into his role, the industry is also asking whether the Government is ambitious enough with its rail plans. Now that economic problems look set to squeeze the public purse, railway people are concerned that transport appears to have fallen down the Government's priority list.

Like other rail bosses, Mr Collins thinks that the private sector is being sidelined and deprived of the chance to shape policy, future strategy and investment. “We have a real opportunity to grow the industry even further. The private sector has a big role to play in bringing in investment and at present that's not being exploited enough by the Government.”

Three factors are driving up demand for rail travel. The private sector's ability to provide more services, when people want them; the high cost and frustration of motoring and growing environmental considerations. “Those factors have created a demand level that quite frankly we are struggling to see how we can satisfy as an industry. Virgin and Stagecoach see that as an opportunity and that is why we are excited about staying within the industry,” he says.

“We need to bring the capacity in when the demand is there, if we don't it will go away.”

Virgin says it is committed but passengers do not forget years of service lapses so easily. Many people living on the London to Glasgow route question whether it has done enough to convince the public that it deserves to win another West Coast franchise.

Mr Collins defends Virgin's record. “Look at the passenger satisfaction ratings, look at the number of people travelling with us. I think we have earned the right to continue. As Virgin, we are always going to be there to be shot at. But actually the passenger feedback we get is encouraging,” he says.

Whether it remains so when the new timetable is brought in this Christmas remains to be seen.

Q&A

If you could change one thing in the financial and commercial environment, what would it be?

Investment in the future both in terms of people and equipment is incentivised more by the tax regime and valued more by investors

Who is or was your mentor?

I have two individuals who have had a huge impact on my career. There is Keith Sharp, at the time FD of Yale Fork Lift Trucks, who took me on as an inexperienced accountant and taught me to be a proper accountant and manager. The second is David Scahill, at the time an MD in Cannon, GEC’s domestic appliance business. It taught me the difference between an accountant and an FD

What was the most important event in your working life?

Meeting David Scahill, having been overlooked for the job of FD replacing Keith Sharp because I was too young and inexperienced

Does money motivate you?

It is important that it is at the right level but to do this type of job you first must enjoy the challenge

What gadget must you have?

I am not a gadget man at all

What does leadership mean to you?

Leadership for me is providing support, encouragement, direction for the people in the business so they can give their best. It is also listening to people and creating an environment where they feel able to challenge and give you feedback. That way you make better decisions

What business person do you most admire?

For me it has to be Sir Richard Branson. He is a tough businessman who puts his trust in the people who work for him and supports them

How do you relax?

I play golf. Vanice, my wife, and I love to spend time walking the Pembrokeshire coast. As a family, I have two children, Kelly (21) and Jonathan (17); we love to ride rollercoasters