fall inside a hole

Tomica World Virgin Train

First written September 29, 2026

Virgin Trains is a now-defunct British rail operator that previously ran passenger service on the West Coast Main Line. Class 43 High Speed Train locomotives, the type used on the famous InterCity 125 trains, were put into service on Virgin Trains and Tomy produced a toy based on the Virgin livery in 1999. Unlike some of the European trains like the TGV and Eurostar that were sold in Japan as Plarail, this train was only made for the export Tomica World range.

The Virgin Train was sold as catalogue number 7465 starting in 1999. Later releases came in an updated Tomica World box with blue Tomy logo.

There were a few different trains that used similar flat bodies with primarily printed graphics like the Kintetsu Urban Liner. I do like the look of the end cars but compared with some of the European trains that were also sold in Japan like the Eurostar which had all new toolings with different details on either end of the intermediate car it is a little disappointing...

This example was produced in May 2003, probably towards the end of production. The chassis have been updated with the new Tomy logo, but that's more to do with the chassis' continued use in the Japanese range.