Transport for the North (TfN) has demanded that rail operator Avanti West Coast (AWC) be stripped of its contract “at the earliest possible opportunity.” The TfN represents leaders from across the north of England in transport, business, and politics. It called for action from Transport Secretary Mark Harper, stating that “a continuation of the current situation is unacceptable to the North.” AWC’s parent company stated a change of operators would not improve services. The Department for Transport argued that stripping Avanti’s contract would cause more disruption for passengers than improving services.
In September 2020, the DfT renewed AWC’s operating contract for up to nine years. This was after significant disruption, which Harper claimed was now resolved. AWC, a joint venture of FirstGroup and Trenitalia, manages rail services between London and Scotland through the West Midlands and north west of England. It is now facing fresh calls for its replacement.
At a meeting in Leeds, TfN board members discussed two options: demanding improved performance by June or terminating the contract immediately. After hearing from First Rail’s managing director Steve Montgomery about AWC’s performance, the TfN board voted to bring back services under public ownership via the Operator of Last Resort (OLR) for long-distance services on the West Coast Main Line. Office of Rail and Road figures reveal that, in the four weeks to 2 March, AWC cancelled 9.1% of its services.
TfN chairman Lord McLoughlin said “The travelling public deserves a service they can rely on. But Avanti has fallen far too short of expectations for far too long now.” TfN wrote to Harper in December 2020 requesting a critical review of AWC’s operations given a decline in service and cuts over the Christmas period. A First Group spokesperson stated that changing the operator would not alleviate fundamental issues affecting the service. So vital that funding plans continue to deliver long-term improvements in customer experience, resilience, and fleet upgrades
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