Avanti West Coast placed on short-term contract with challenge to improve service

The Department for Transport (DfT) has agreed to renew Avanti West Coast’s contract to run West Coast Mainline rail services for six months, and called on the operator to urgently improve services.

Driver shortages and rostering challenges have seen the rail operator slash the frequency of trains on all its routes, including its Manchester and Stockport to London services. Last month, following calls from metro-mayors including Andy Burnham, Avanti published a timeframe in which it sought to restore its timetable following recruitment of over 100 train drivers, with three trains each way per hour to run from Greater Manchester to London by 11th December.

Announcing the renewal of Avanti West Coast’s contract, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

“We need train services which are reliable and resilient to modern day life. Services on Avanti have been unacceptable and while the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers.

“We have agreed a 6-month extension to Avanti to assess whether it is capable of running this crucial route to a standard passengers deserve and expect.”

The short term contract until 1st April 2023 gives Avanti six months to better its service, with DfT calling for improvements including:

• the successful delivery of its timetable recovery plan and a significant, sustained and reliable increase from about 180 trains per day to 264 trains per day on weekdays as new and retrained drivers become available
• continuing to deliver on its traincrew recruitment and plans to reduce reliance on rest day working to operate services
• extending booking options for passengers, making the full range of tickets available as early as possible

Avanti West Coast is a joint venture between transport giant FirstGroup and Italian state rail operator, Trenitalia and took over the West Coast Mainline franchise from Virgin Trains in 2020. The company was also expected to manage the first HS2 services when the North-South high speed link first opens between London and Birmingham, with Trenitalia’s experience of similar services in Italy cited in the original franchise award.

Commenting on the contract renewal, Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer said:

“We are committed to working closely with government and our partners across the industry to deliver a successful railway that serves the needs of our customers and communities. Today’s agreement allows our team at Avanti West Coast to sustain their focus on delivering their robust plan to restore services to the levels that passengers rightly expect.”