Avanti West Coast has been placed on a short-term contract by The Department for Transport in a bit to deliver an improvement in services.
Over recent months, Avanti West Coast has seen operational issues caused primarily by the availability of drivers.
Nearly 100 drivers will have started their career this year between April and December and has meant the company has begun to add more services as more drivers have become available to work.
The operator has also added extra trains to its London – Manchester and London to Birmingham routes, bringing them closer to normal running.
Avanti’s contract is coming to an end and this short term extension will see it continue to run services until 1st April 2023.
The government will then consider Avanti’s performance whilst finalising a National Rail Contract that will have a focus on resilience of services and continuity for passengers.
Other improvement plans include:
- The successful delivery of its timetable recovery plan and an increase from about 180 trains per day to 264 trains per day on weekdays
- 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
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 problems facing Avanti over recent weeks stem from old working practices that mean shifts are often covered by existing drivers volunteering to work above their 35 contracted hours. This antiquated practice shows just how urgent it is for us to modernise our railways, so passengers benefit from reliable services that don’t rely on the goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime.”
Commenting, 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.”
Responses
Virgin Should never of lost the contract in the first place. First Group are utter rubbish in so many areas. Sir Richard Branson did a far better job when he was running it. Bring him and Virgin Back!!
Britain is not a cash cow ,our railways should be put back into the hands of the British people, welcome back British rail.
So which lines do we shut and do we reopen any new lines
When I started on the railway as a ,15 yr old in 1960 Saturday and Sunday working was a part of the normal rostered working week, the changing to the normal week is to blame.
How can you run a service based on overtime dependantcy!!
Every time the Conservatives are offered the opportunity to reward corporate failure they jump at the chance. How much longer will we all be forced to pay miles over the odds for England’s (sic) totally dysfunctional, fragmented, and crazily inefficient rail industry?