"Pendolino is the transport of the future"

Sir Richard Branson is also concerned that, with Railtrack in administration, permission will not be granted in time to run the Pendolinos during this summer's Commonwealth Games.

In an order worth about �1bn, Virgin has ordered 53 of the trains which are being built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.

Sir Richard said: "The waiting is nearly over. The Pendolino is the transport of the future and we are only weeks away from putting it into passenger service."

The new trains feature state-of-the-art passenger facilities, including multi-channel audio at all seats, charging points for laptop computers and mobile phones, and a self-service shop selling food and books.

Once the 125mph speeds can be reached on all sections, London-Manchester journey times will be cut from two hours 25 minutes to two hours and five minutes.

London-Glasgow times will be reduced by more than an hour to four hours 15 minutes.