Andy Burnham says Avanti West Coast ‘should have remained on …

Andy Burnham says he believes train operator Avanti West Coast's^[1] 'probation' should have been extended instead of the company being awarded a new long-term contract to run services between Manchester and London.

Avanti, which replaced Virgin Trains on the West Coast Mainline in December 2019, had been monitored by the Government after passengers faced a host of problems last year.

The operator struggled with reliability and with passengers being unable to book tickets in advance, and was slammed in August last year for cutting services between Manchester and London.

Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said at the time he would ask the Government to strip Avanti of its franchise if improvements weren't made.

The operator's new long-term deal, announced on Tuesday, comes after it was handed two consecutive six-month contracts^[4] and ordered to develop a recovery plan aimed at addressing poor performance on vital routes, which was largely attributed to drivers refusing to work paid overtime shifts.

Speaking to the M.E.N. today, Mr Burnham said services still weren't good enough. "It's frustrating because they are not where they need to be," he said.

"I personally do not think they have made the case to have a long-term renewal. I think they have clearly made some improvements but are services where they need to be? Well, no they are not. That's why I think an extension of the probation that they were under would have been more appropriate than the long-term renewal."

Rail passengers, said Labour, would be 'appalled' that a long-term contract has been handed out.

Latest Office of Rail and Road figures show Avanti West Coast is Britain’s second worst performing operator in the country for punctuality, with only 48 per cent of stops at stations made within one minute of timetables in the four weeks to August 19.

Labour's shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh MP, said: "Passengers who rely on this abysmal service will be appalled that, despite being almost rock bottom of the league table for delays, Avanti is being awarded a lucrative new contract. That's on top of millions of pounds in performance bonuses.

"The only reliable thing about Britain's railways under the Tories is the waste of taxpayers’ money, which the Government has put into the pockets of shareholders.

"Rather than rewarding failing operators by renewing their contracts, Labour would end this scandal by bringing them back into public ownership as they expire and put passengers first."

Avanti West Coast’s new deal, which starts on October 15, has a maximum length of nine years but can be axed after three years. CrossCountry’s contract, also announced today, has a maximum term of eight years, but can be terminated at any point after four years. Both operators have suffered disruption due to industrial action.

The proportion of Avanti's trains being cancelled has been cut to 'as low as 1.1 per cent over the past year", the Department for Transport said.

"Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: "The routes Avanti West Coast operate provide vital connections, and passengers must feel confident that they can rely on the services to get them where they need to be at the right time. Over the past year, short-term contracts were necessary to rebuild the timetable and reduce cancellations.

"Now Avanti are back on track, providing long-term certainty for both the operator and passengers will best ensure that improvements continue.”

Avanti West Coast runs trains on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central, with branches to Birmingham, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is a joint venture between FirstGroup and Italian state operator Trenitalia.

Avanti West Coast managing director Andy Mellors said: “Over the last six months, we have delivered significant and sustained improvements in operational performance and customer satisfaction. Cancellations that Avanti West Coast is responsible for have stabilised at below 2 per cent of scheduled services.

"The last year has been challenging but I would like to thank our customers as well as stakeholders for their patience."

References

1. ^{^} train operator Avanti West Coast's (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
2. ^{^}