The 10th birthday of Virgin Trains has been celebrated by the publication of a book "Virgin Trains, A Decade of Progress" which for the first time narrates the story of the company from 1997 to the present day.

The official launch of the book was marked on 8 May 2007 by renaming Pendolino No. 39001 A Decade of Progress at Wolverhampton station by the author John Balmforth's two and half year old granddaughter, Penelope.

John, a retired railwayman and life long transport enthusiast, lives in nearby Halesowen and was formerly Deputy Chair of the Rail Passengers Committee for the Midlands in which he became the lead spokesman on Virgin Trains and Network Rail issues. He currently chairs TravelWatch Midlands West.

The book is not an official Virgin Trains publication but is John Balmforth's independent assessment of the progress made by the company in its 10 years of train operation on two of the UK's most important rail arteries.

All royalties from the book, which has been produced by Ian Allan Publishing, one of Britain's leading independent special interest publishers who have been releasing quality books on railways and other transport subjects for over 60 years, will be going to the Railway Children charity.

Virgin Trains General Manager for Wolverhampton, Sean Allsop said at today's ceremony: "We must applaud John today for his single mindedness and dedication in creating an extremely well researched history of our company. He has not flinched from dealing with the difficult issues and in that respect has created a most readable account that will enthral the reader."

John Balmforth replied by saying: "I would like to thank Virgin Trains for their wonderful support and co-operation in accessing their archives and allowing access to areas not normally available to the public, not to mention for naming a Pendolino after the book. Also to Sir Richard Branson, Chris Green, Tony Collins and the many others who gave so much of their time. My heartfelt thanks also go to everyone who contributed photographs for use in the book - none of whom made any charge - and those who carried out the merciless task of proof reading.