Avanti West Coast to retain franchise despite calls for renationalisation

The Department for Transport (DfT) will not strip rail operator Avanti West Coast of its franchise, despite calls from political leaders in the North-west to do so, the Financial Times has reported.

Transport for the North (TfN) and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are among those to have called for the rail operator to be stripped of its contract to operate on the West Coast Mainline owing to poor performance of services – the operator is the worst performing in the UK, with cancellation levels at double the national average between April and June 2024. Poor performance by other operators in the North-west, Northern and TransPennine Express, has seen them brought under the control of the DfT’s Operator of Last Resort.

Legal advice given to the DfT and shared with the Financial Times, however, finds that the operator’s has not breached its contract with regards to performance levels. Avanti West Coast has also previously argued that the majority of delays and cancellations on its services have been down to infrastructure problems, or as a result of the knock-on impact of delays caused by other operators.

In 2023, Avanti West Coast, owned jointly by FirstGroup and Trenitalia, was awarded a nine-year contract by the previous government to continue running intercity services between London Euston and towns and cities in the West Midlands and North-west via the West Coast Mainline. The contract renewal came after a shorter extension to give the operator the chance to make improvements to service levels and addressing staff shortages following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Government plans to renationalise the railways are currently progressing through parliament and will see rail franchises come under DfT control once existing contracts expire, or to utilise break clauses in existing contracts to do so sooner, with the process anticipated to begin from February. Franchises already under the Operator of Last Resort, including services run by Northern and TransPennine Express will not be put back out to tender.