Avanti quizzed by Andy Burnham on 'free' public money slide

Avanti West Coast is investigating a leaked presentation which described taxpayer subsidies as "free money", the rail firm's boss has said.

Managing director Andy Mellors told Greater Manchester council leaders the firm was looking into how and why the "unacceptable language" was used.

Avanti's performance came under fire at the meeting after a spate of delays and cancellations in the region last month.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the services had "collapsed".

He said Avanti was "simply not employing enough drivers to cover your timetable" at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's (GMCA) Bee Network Committee meeting on Thursday.

Mr Mellors denied the accusation, which he said was down to sickness and annual leave, adding "unprecedented numbers" of drivers were being recruited, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"At any point in time, we have 80 drivers in training, with a total headcount of 600, we need around 500 drivers to deliver our day to day operation."

Councillors from all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs heard from representatives of TransPennine Express, Northern, Network Rail, and Avanti at the meeting.

Mr Burnham, who is seeking re-election in May, asked the Avanti boss whether the leaked slide from an internal presentation referencing "free money" from the government highlighted "cultural problems" at the firm.

He asked: "Don't the slides reveal the truth that you're more interested in making money than providing the service to our residents?"

Mr Mellors rejected that claim, and added: "We are undertaking an investigation on what went on there in terms of the adequacy of the processes and controls in the production of that material."

He said he could give Greater Manchester residents a "cast-iron guarantee" that the firm was seeking to minimise the disruption seen in 2022.

"We're working really hard to deliver the resilient operation all year round, we've made some good inroads over the last 12 months with the actions taken, but absolutely recognise there's more work to do."

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