Avanti West Coast ordered to 'drastically' improve rail services

Rail firm Avanti West Coast has been warned it needs to "drastically improve services" after its contract to run the London to Glasgow route was extended by just six months.

The decision means it will continue to run services until next April, the Department for Transport said.

Avanti has come under fire after slashing its timetables in August, with trains between London and Manchester the worst affected.

It had apologised for the problems.

Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said services on Avanti have been "unacceptable".

"While the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers," she said.

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

The operator cut its timetable from seven trains per hour to a minimum of four on 14 August and suspended ticket sales, blaming "severe staff shortages".

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham told the BBC that Friday's decision was "at least a significant shift for the new Transport Secretary" who replaced Grant Shapps under new Prime Minister Liz Truss.

He said: "At last there is a recognition that there has been spectacular mismanagement by Avanti West Coast."

But Mr Burnham added: "The company's failure to put forward an acceptable rescue plan, and the government's failure to set really clear conditions and deadlines means that very few people in Greater Manchester will support this extension.

"We just need good services and a full timetable back as soon as possible."

Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council, added: "We understand there is a date of 11 December for services to be put back up to what they were previously - that for us simply isn't good enough."

Avanti has relied in the past on workers doing overtime in order to run its services. It says that train drivers suddenly stopped volunteering for overtime in early August, resulting in the shortages.

The train drivers' union, Aslef, has strongly denied any accusations that there has been unofficial strike action.

The Department for Transport said that more services have started to be added as new drivers become available to work, with nearly 100 additional drivers added this year between April and December.

The company is planning to increase services from 180 to 264 trains per day on weekdays as more drivers become available, and it is recruiting more train staff.

Avanti West Coast's contract had been due to expire on 16 October. Announcing the new short-term contract, the Department for Transport said it would "consider Avanti's performance" once the extension comes to an end on 1 April 2023.

FirstGroup, which owns Avanti West Coast in a joint venture with Italy's Trenitalia, said it was "committed" to providing services that meet the needs of 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," said Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup's chief executive.

"It's about time they lost the franchise", said Philip Nevitsky, adding that he had travelled 25 times a year between London and Manchester with Virgin for 20 years, and "it's dreadful now".

He said "everything" was bad with the service, including the prices.

"The last time I came back [to Manchester] two weeks ago, the first announcement was: 'No hot drinks, no electric, no credit cards, cash only.'"

He thought that the extension of the franchise was "disgusting".

"We need a proper service," he said. "We need three trains an hour."

However, Stephanie Clarke said she hadn't come across any problems with the Avanti service on her journey to Manchester, although she was aware there are fewer services than there were in August.

"I looked for my ticket three days ago, it was there, and even today they let me get on a train earlier, so I can't complain," she said.

"They may have issues, but I certainly didn't notice them."

Before Avanti's recent problems, the expectation was a new contract lasting 10 years would be awarded. This would include continuing as the shadow operator for HS2.

Fast forward to this morning and what's been announced is only a short extension while a longer-term contract is negotiated.

And it comes with a warning that things need to get better. Avanti has said its reduced timetable has improved reliability and does not rely on staff working overtime to fulfil services.

However, it has acknowledged the inconvenience passengers have faced.

The situation has highlighted the rail industry's reliance on overtime, something ministers have said must change.

Not everyone is happy with Avanti's recovery plan - on Thursday, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said it should commit to a consistent two trains per hour between Manchester and London by the end of this month.

And after months of disruption, passengers will need to see for themselves that the service has become reliable again.

Avanti started running extra trains on its key London-Manchester and London-Birmingham routes at the end of September, and it has said that services will improve in December once drivers finish their training.

The timetable cuts sparked widespread criticism and frustration.

In September, Avanti West Coast's managing director Phil Whittingham stepped down amid an ongoing backlash over the reduced services.

Its director Barry Milsom also apologised "for the enormous frustration and inconvenience".