A train operator has been awarded a long-term contract to run services on the West Coast Main Line.
The Department for Transport has confirmed Avanti West Coast had been given the deal after seeing improvements in cancellations on the route.
They said the long-term contract would allow the operator to plan ahead and provide certainty for advance timetables and the roll out of new train fleets.
It comes after Avanti West Coast had previously been placed on two short-term agreements to allow for a recovery plan to address poor performance to be introduced, which has seen more than 100 new drivers trained and tickets being made available earlier.
A new timetable also saw the number of services increase from 180 per day to 264 on weekdays, with more than 90% of trains now arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled time instead of the 75% recorded in December 2022.
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.”
Mark Harper
Starting on 15th October, Avanti West Coast’s new National Rail Contract will have a core term of three years – after which it can be terminated with three months’ notice – and a maximum possible term of nine years.
Big deal. They have the bare minimum number of train services that stop at LTV anyway. Used to be a daily evening direct to Glasgow, now it’s three or four changes. Used to be frequent trains South to Euston, now it’s the slower and much less comfortable West Midlands trains. Poor all round.
Short term franchises have been a feature of our privatised public transport system, which discourage long term investments. With the best will in the world, what private company is going to spend vast amounts when they could lose the franchise in as little as three years? It is a little ridiculous. Even nine years is a relatively short term contract. Even better still- renationalise it, and bring it back under public control. After all, government is subsidising them anyway. A farcical hybrid system that has faltered many times.