Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab) (Urgent Question): To ask
the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement
on her decision to renew the contract for Avanti West Coast to
provide passenger services on the west coast main line. The
Minister of State, Department for Transport (Kevin Foster) On 7
October, a short-term contract was entered into with the incumbent
operator for the West Coast Partnership. The contract extends the
delivery of the...Request free trial
(Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if
she will make a statement on her decision to renew the contract
for Avanti West Coast to provide passenger services on the west
coast main line.
The Minister of State, Department for Transport ()
On 7 October, a short-term contract was entered into with the
incumbent operator for the West Coast Partnership. The contract
extends the delivery of the West Coast Partnership and Avanti
West Coast business for six months until 1 April 2023. This gives
Avanti a clear opportunity to improve its services to the
standard we and the public expect. The Government will then
consider Avanti’s performance while finalising a national rail
contract for consideration in relation to the route, alongside
preparations by the operator of last resort should it become
necessary for it to step in at the end of the extension
period.
The primary cause of Avanti’s recent problems is a shortage of
fully trained drivers. Avanti was heavily reliant on drivers
volunteering to work additional days because of delays in
training during covid. When volunteering suddenly all but ceased,
Avanti was no longer able to operate its timetable. Nearly 100
additional drivers will enter formal service between April and
December this year, and Avanti has begun to restore services,
initially focusing on the Manchester and Birmingham routes.
From December, Avanti plans to operate 264 daily train services
on weekdays, a significant step up from the circa 180 daily
services at present. We need train services that are reliable and
resilient to modern life. Although the company has taken positive
steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver
certainty of service to its passengers. We will hold Avanti fully
to account for things in its control, but this plan is not
without risk and, importantly, requires trade union co-operation.
The priority remains to support the restoration of services
before making any long-term decisions.
In assessing options for a longer-term contract, the Secretary of
State will consider factors including outcomes for passengers,
value for money and the delivery of major projects and
investment—in this case High Speed 2, given the links to its
future delivery model. To put it simply, things must improve
during this probation period for the contract to be further
extended.
I declare an interest, as I suspect many Members will, as a
long-suffering traveller on the so-called rail service on the
west coast main line.
By giving Avanti this six-month contract extension, after months
of failure and rail chaos, this Government are frankly rewarding
that failure. Avanti promised to improve services back in
September, and instead it has gone and cut services, introduced
this emergency timetable and almost entirely stopped selling
tickets online.
The provision of reliable train services is essential for the
economic growth and prosperity of more than half the UK’s
population. I seek clarification on the metrics the Minister will
use to assess improvement or, indeed, further failure, given that
the bar is currently set so low. It is clear that the west coast
franchise has been fundamentally mismanaged by Avanti. These
significant failings mean that staff morale is at an all-time
low, which is reflected in the industrial action taken by trade
unions. Staff report being overworked and understaffed due to the
company’s failure to recruit sufficient staff and fill vacancies.
I understand that many station ticket offices are understaffed
and, in many instances, the company is failing to meet its
regulated ticket office opening hours. As the Government are so
tightly managing this contract, what are they doing to resolve
these industrial disputes and the issues affecting staff at
Avanti?
It seems that the Government are intent on rewarding failure.
Rather than bringing the franchise in-house, they have given
Avanti an extension. The Government have given Avanti precisely
the same management fee despite it running dozens fewer services.
This means Avanti stands to receive fees, or profits, worth £6
million for this period. This profiteering is supported by the
Government and paid for by taxpayers and passengers. Avanti is
part-owned by the Italian Government, so why not the UK
Government instead? We could then reinvest any surplus revenue in
improving the network for passengers rather than seeing it seep
out in profits. When will the Government stop rewarding Avanti’s
failure and instead strip it of its franchise and bring the west
coast main line back into public ownership?
What metrics will we use? As with all rail contract awards, the
Government will act in accordance with the franchising policy
statement made under section 26(1) of the Railways Act 1993,
which is already publicly available, in assessing whether to
award a new contract. As I have said a number of times from this
Dispatch Box, we are clear that the current service is
unacceptable and will look for significant improvements before
April if we are to extend this contract any further.
I always say that bringing something in-house is not necessarily
a magic bullet, as the hon. Member for Coventry South () demonstrated with her
recent tweet when travelling on London North Eastern Railway,
which is operated by the operator of last resort. For example,
there might be issues related to infrastructure, which is of
course publicly owned.
Avanti has a plan for improvement and the significant restoration
of services in December, and we are seeing new train drivers
being trained. Of course, we are seeing the wider impact of
industrial action on the network, on which we and the Opposition
have very clear views. They support it one day and not the
next.
We believe there is a credible plan. There is daily interaction
between Avanti and the Department for Transport, with weekly
interaction at the most senior level. Ministers are regularly
updated, too. We are making sure that a firm eye is kept on this,
and we receive regular representations from Members of this House
on what needs to happen to ensure this line provides the type of
service we all want to see.
(Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale
and Tweeddale) (Con)
I have previously raised my concern about the capacity of
FirstGroup, which is a partner of Avanti that also operates
the Transpennine service
that has been absolutely appalling over recent months,
particularly for my constituents who use Lockerbie station. Is
the Minister clear that FirstGroup has the capacity both to
operate Transpennine and be
part of the Avanti partnership and, in both, achieve improvements
on the currently unacceptable levels of service?
I have met FirstGroup to discuss the overall position of its
franchise. It should be remembered that FirstGroup is also
involved in running the Great Western Railway franchise, which
runs fairly successfully in the south-west and Wales. Other parts
of its operation are going relatively well, are well managed, are
delivering good outcomes for customers and are supporting our
agenda of growing the rail network. For example, GWR operates the
Dartmoor line that was opened last year.
On Transpennine Express,
we recognise that a number of factors have affected performance.
Again, quite a lot of training is needed following the backlogs
caused by covid and related to the line upgrades. It is clear
that Transpennine Express
services need to improve quite substantially. Again, we look to
work with FirstGroup to get the type of improvement plan we want
to see.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Slough) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood
() for securing this urgent question because Avanti West
Coast’s continued abject failures are simply unacceptable. Over
the course of its contract, Avanti has had the fewest trains on
time, more complaints than any other operator and a wholesale
failure to train new drivers, which has led to the mess we have
to endure today. Despite this, Avanti has been rewarded with a
contract extension. The Tories, as usual, are rewarding failure,
yet there are gaping holes in the improvement plan announced
alongside the contract extension, which will prolong passenger
misery.
On the busiest main line in the country, at the busiest time of
year, there is not a single bookable weekend service between
November and Christmas—not one. The service reductions that the
Government signed off were supposed to increase reliability, but
they have done the exact opposite. Can the Minister explain today
when services will be available to book and why the Transport
Secretary failed to demand that as a condition of handing over
millions in taxpayers’ cash? Avanti is being paid precisely the
same management fee as under the previous contract, even though
hundreds of services are not running—why? Travelling across the
north is also becoming next to impossible. Today, more than 40
services on Transpennine Express
have been cancelled. As my good friend the Mayor of West
Yorkshire, , lamented to me:
“It’s chaos and the Government must intervene.”
So why are they planning to hand TPE an eight-year contract for
this service in May? Perhaps the Minister can enlighten the House
as to whether they are preventing a deal between TPE and the
workforce which could improve services in the short term?
Today, what the public need to hear from the incoming
Government—yet another Government—is a serious plan to get travel
across the north back on track; they need to hear a plan to
restore services. If the Government cannot get that, they must
withdraw the contract, because passengers are sick and tired of
excuses.
We have been clear that the current position with services is
unacceptable and we expect significant improvements. Long-term
contract award decisions will be affected if, as we approach
them, the service day to day is not where it should be. The
management fees that are paid are specified in the contracts for
operating. That said, the performance fee, to which the hon.
Gentleman was perhaps also referring, for Avanti for the period
beyond the withdrawal of rest-day working and the current
timetable reductions is due to be independently evaluated. That
is not just done by the Government and it has not yet been done.
I suspect that the independent evaluator will want to take on
board quite a number of these points, but the hon. Gentleman will
appreciate why I would not want to give too many comments from
the Dispatch Box on what the independent evaluator should do.
As for the plans for improvement, the first point to make, which
has already been touched on, is that we are seeing more drivers
being trained by Avanti West Coast and there are plans to
reinstate the vast majority of the timetable in December.
Clearly, when deciding what comes next we will want to make sure
that that has worked and it is delivering an acceptable level of
service for ourselves and for passengers more widely. On TPE,
although we are of course welcoming the fact that we are starting
very large-scale investment into that route, the level of which
that route has not seen for decades, we need to see significant
improvement.
As for moving immediately to cancel the contract, I remind the
hon. Gentleman of the quotes in the Manchester Evening News on 6
October that were attributed to Mayor about how that could bring more
disruption in the short term. The idea that putting this
situation into the hands of the operator of last resort would
immediately resolve a driver shortage and other issues is not one
that stands up to any scrutiny.
(Newcastle-under-Lyme)
(Con)
My constituents have been enduring a pretty terrible service from
Avanti for many months, with only one train an hour from
Stoke-on-Trent recently. But it is not just about the reliability
and the cramped trains; it is also about the availability of
tickets, as people are not able to book ahead, which is costing
them more because they are having to buy on the day. When the
Minister speaks to Avanti, will he make sure that he stresses not
only reliability, but availability, so that my constituents can
get up and down the west coast cheaply?
Yes, I will. In fact, I have already spoken to some of Avanti’s
most senior management and made that point, particularly
following representations from hon. Members. I also reinforced it
in a meeting I had with FirstGroup more recently, and it has an
overall interest in the Avanti operation.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesman, .
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
North) (SNP)
There are 14 trains scheduled this Saturday from Glasgow to
Euston, but last Saturday only three actually ran, and yesterday
saw more than 15% of Avanti’s Glasgow services cancelled. People
in Scotland and the north of England are being treated as
third-class citizens. I doubt that the laissez-faire attitude of
the Department for Transport when it comes to industrial
relations at Avanti would last five minutes if home counties
commuter services were being slashed in the same way. When are
Ministers going to roll up their sleeves and get involved? Was
Mick Lynch not right when he said in evidence to the Transport
Committee that Scottish Government politicians:
“have an attitude where they want to resolve the issue, whereas
sometimes when we meet politicians down here they want to
exacerbate the issue and make us their enemy.”
And that was before the Government tabled their utterly
regressive Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill; Tory
party ideology is impacting taxpayers and passengers yet
again.
The six-month extension is seen by everyone as kicking the can
down the road. What work is ongoing right now to ensure that the
DFT and Directly Operated Railways Ltd are ready to “take back
control” of a key piece of cross-border infrastructure, and we
follow the lead of Scotland in ending the disastrous experiment
of privatisation?
Work is ongoing to ensure that the operator of last resort would
be ready in April to pick up the service. I will touch on some of
the issues raised, but not all are within Avanti’s control;
merely changing the franchise and who operates it would not
resolve issues and problems that have been caused by
infrastructure or engineering works, for obvious reasons—those
sit in Network Rail’s purview. However, we are certainly not
adopting a laissez-faire attitude. Every day, the DFT is engaging
with Avanti and TPE about the services. Every week, there are
senior-level contacts as well, and Ministers are actively
involved with this process. I am a traveller on Avanti trains
myself of a Sunday, and the idea that we are not interested in
this or that we have some sort of laissez-faire attitude is
completely for the birds. As for relationships with the trade
unions, the Transport Secretary has met the general secretaries,
but we make the point that we are not the employer in this
circumstance, and it is for the unions and the operating
companies to come to an agreement.
(Barrow and Furness) (Con)
On Saturday, I endured an almost 10-hour odyssey across the UK to
go from Barrow to London, for an engagement that I then missed.
No one is going to peel an onion for me, but many of us have to
endure this twice a week and for our constituents it is many more
times than that. They are missing trips to the airport and to see
their families, and they are missing their commutes. This is
simply unacceptable, and they cannot book ahead and their tickets
are ridiculously expensive as a result. Will my hon. Friend
confirm that if Avanti does not improve services quickly, it will
be stripped of its franchise?
I hear the points my hon. Friend makes. Obviously, he will
appreciate that I need to follow the due legal process in terms
of any removal of franchise, but we have made clear the criteria
that are set out and the need for improvement before April, which
is when we would need to take the final decision on a longer-term
principle. If the current situation continues, that will clearly
be a very strong part of our consideration.
(Bury South) (Lab)
Two weeks ago, I told Avanti in the Select Committee that every
train I had booked in the past month had been cancelled. Avanti
told me that there had been improvements. Improvements appear to
be moving about as fast as the 8.55 from Manchester Piccadilly to
London Euston—that train was cancelled. We have seen a reduced
service, half of all trains late and 60,000 complaints, yet the
Government have handed Avanti more than £19 million, including
more than £4 million in performance bonuses. What message does
the Minister think it sends to the public to reward Avanti in
this way for nothing but failure and letting down its
customers?
The hon. Gentleman would be aware, had he heard some of what I
said earlier, that the performance payments in relation to the
period since the timetable reduction have yet to be evaluated
independently. Clearly, the evaluation will take into account the
actual situation of the delivery of the contract. As this is an
independent evaluation, he will appreciate why it is not one I
will personally do as a Minister and it is right that it is under
that process. As we have touched on, the Government have made it
clear to Avanti that significant improvements need to be made in
its service. It has a plan to implement for December, which it is
confident will deliver a major improvement in the service it is
operating. We look forward to seeing it implement that.
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con)
I am grateful to the Minister for meeting me a week ago today to
discuss Avanti West Coast services to north Wales. He knows that
those remain abysmal. Whereas there are normally six direct
services a day, there is now just one, if it is not cancelled.
What assurances has he received from the company that it will
able to return to near normality by December, as promised?
The assurances that Avanti is giving are that its plans for
December will restore the majority of direct services into north
Wales. DFT officials are engaging daily with Avanti, as I have
touched on, because we do not just want to accept an assurance
that the service will be better. Clearly, we want to have
verified plans for it to be better. We are seeing additional
train drivers coming in and we are reassuring ourselves that
Avanti’s plans for December do not include the use of driver
rest-day working, because the withdrawal of that prompted the
major issues in its timetable. Clearly, we would not want
Avanti’s improvement plan to be based on that factor. That is
where we are at the moment. We are assured that it has the plan
to restore the majority of services in December, but clearly we
are engaging with Avanti daily and will see what happens in
December, and that will then prompt what we do on the long-term
franchise.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Avanti is currently able to run approximately 40% of the services
out of Euston that its predecessor used to run, with a massive
impact on my communities and all those people from London, the
biggest destination in the country, who visit the lakes, the
second biggest. Staff shortages are clearly the problem, along
with a lack of good will in the staff body. There are wonderful
people working for Avanti, but there are not enough of them and
they are poorly managed. Will the Minister reflect on the fact
that one reason why there is such low morale and low commitment
to good will and working overtime is the Government-sanctioned
programme of ticket office closures, not just on the mainline at
Penrith and Oxenholme but in places such as Appleby, Windermere
and Grange. Will he push Avanti to make sure that we keep those
ticket offices open, and therefore perhaps do something about
staff morale and train reliability?
We could have quite a session on the changes in ticket buying
patterns in recent years. The number of people buying tickets at
a ticket office has declined dramatically, and we are keen that
staff should be deployed as much in helping passengers outside on
the concourse as in sitting behind a glass screen waiting to sell
a ticket.
As for the overall services, the hon. Gentleman corresponds with
me regularly, I am afraid, about the issues that affect his
constituents. We have made it clear that the current performance
is not acceptable. We recognise that individual staff members
work hard and deliver a good service, but overall the standard is
not what we expect, and we expect significant improvement,
particularly in the December improvement plan, which we will
monitor closely.
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
In the past year, daily flights from Ynys Môn to Cardiff have
been scrapped by the Welsh Government, and on Friday came the
appalling shock that they will close one of the two bridges—the
Menai bridge—for up to four months. On top of that, we have a
rail service that limps along with just one direct service to and
from London. What assurance has the Minister been given by Avanti
that at least one of Ynys Môn’s transport links will be fully
functional by the end of the year?
I know that my hon. Friend is strongly committed to restoring the
connections which her constituents have a right to expect.
Certainly, the December plan includes the restoration of the
majority of the services to Holyhead. As I have touched on in a
number of my answers, there is daily engagement between the
Department and Avanti, including at a more senior level, not just
to study what is happening currently but to reassure ourselves
about the plans going forward. We expect those to be in place by
the end of the year. We have made it clear that we will then look
at what happens after the plan has been implemented, and that
will form the basis of the decisions that we make long term.
(Coventry North West)
(Lab)
Across the west midlands and in Coventry, commuters face
continued travel disruption due to the failures of Avanti West
Coast. That has had a huge economic impact on my constituents in
Coventry North West. There have been absolutely no consequences
for the appalling service that Avanti has delivered to my
constituents, so while the current Government may well continue
to operate without accountability, will the Minister tell me when
he will stop rewarding failure and stop wasting taxpayers’ money,
and do the right thing by putting power back into the hands of
passengers?
I have pointed out a couple of times that performance payments
for the period since the cessation of rest-day working and the
reduction in the timetable will be evaluated independently. To my
knowledge, no such payments have been made so far, but we will
wait for the result for the independent evaluation, which is
specified under the franchise contracts. As has been touched on,
simply changing the branding of the train or the name of the
operator will not resolve many of the issues, but we are
relatively confident that the plan that will be set out by Avanti
in December will deliver. Of course, we will hold Avanti to
account on that plan.
(Dudley South) (Con)
Many of my constituents in Dudley South have been let down badly
by the inability of Avanti West Coast to operate an acceptable
level of service. How many more chances will Avanti have before
its faces the consequences of its failings?
As I have touched on, we have made it clear that we will follow
due process. We have been clear in our comments to Avanti that
the six-month extension is not an indication of what our
long-term view is. It is effectively a probationary period, and
we expect to see significant improvements in the services on the
line before April. As I have touched on, the OLR is making
preparations that would be necessary if it had to step in at that
point.
(Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
(Lab)
Does the Minister understand the depths of the rage of commuters
in Birmingham and the west midlands that a company that is
incapable of running a train service has just been rewarded with
a six-month extension? Surely he can see that Avanti, having
treated the public like fools, is now treating him like a fool,
because all that it is seeking to do is maximise its profit for
the next six months before the inevitable happens and the
contract folds. He should get a grip and end this chaos now.
First, I am always pleased to note that the vast majority of
commuters in Birmingham, Coventry and the west midlands have the
benefit of Mayor pushing their transport
services forward, and we are delighted to work with him to ensure
quality. As for Avanti, we have engaged directly with Mayor
Street, because we want to see improvements and we want the
service to change. We will have a plan to do so in December.
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
(Con)
In addition to the severe disruption and overcrowding of services
through Stoke-on-Trent, commitments to improve stations have not
been fulfilled. Will my hon. Friend look at what more can be done
to ensure that those contractual obligations to improve stations
such as Stoke-on-Trent are fulfilled by Avanti?
Certainly we are keen that Avanti should honour all its
contractual obligations. The one on which we are most focused is
ensuring that it improves the operation of the railway but,
similarly, we would want to consider the other commitments that
it made—the progress that has been made on them and how it is
honouring them—as part of the longer-term decision.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
I probably spend more time on the Avanti west coast main line
than anyone in the Chamber. Its performance is simply appalling,
and the Minister saying that it must improve is like me turning
to my son and daughter and saying, “Don’t eat anything from the
biscuit tin again”, then walking away and leaving the biscuit tin
in front of them. The reality is that under the Avanti franchise,
staff morale has been driven into the ground. The company has
engaged in horrendous industrial relations with the trade unions,
and it is running the service into the ground in the full
expectation that it will lose it in six months’ time. Why does
the Minister not just do the right thing, take the contract from
Avanti, and follow the example of the Scottish Government and
bring it back into public ownership?
My discussions with FirstGroup and Avanti, and particularly with
FirstGroup, do not indicate that it is inevitable that they will
lose the service in six months’ time, or that that is an outcome
for which they hope and wish. Every day, the Department engages
with Avanti on the December improvement plan and bringing in more
train drivers. Again, that brings home the fact that we need to
reform our railways to move away from the idea that services
depend on rest-day working, which belongs to the services of the
past.
(Blackpool South) (Con)
The situation with Avanti has been intolerable for many months.
Not only has that caused significant problems for commuters but
it has damaged the tourism industry in my constituency, as
holidaymakers are reluctant to book ahead. What reassurances can
the Minister give the House that he is holding Avanti to account
on its recovery plan?
As I have said, departmental officials engage with Avanti on its
recovery plan, as I touched on in an answer to a previous
question: it is about not just accepting its assurance but going
into the details of what the plan is. Every week, there is
engagement at senior management level. Ministers are engaged
through departmental teams with the progress that has been made
on reassurance. As I have said, at the moment we are confident
that Avanti can deliver its plan in December —there is a
requirement for trade union co-operation as well, which we accept
is slightly out of its control—and that is our key focus in
ensuring that we manage this every day, as we are conscious that
significant improvement is needed.
(Blackley and Broughton)
(Lab)
It is no accident that Avanti has reached the pinnacle of
incompetence within the rail industry. It has done that by
cutting costs and putting profit before service and people. It
has damaged the economy all the way along the west coast main
line. People who use that line do not want it to continue. I do
not want it to continue. Why is the Minister giving this dreadful
company a second chance?
As I have already said, we are clear that the six-month extension
is to give Avanti the final opportunity to implement the
improvement plans that it has put in place, which we are starting
to see the benefits of—we are starting to see drivers coming
through—and that will then allow us to take a final decision in
the early part of next year about what happens. Alongside all
that, we are already doing the relevant preparations in the
OLR.
(Cheadle) (Con)
The Avanti service between Stockport and London Euston is
unacceptable and has been for some time. I am grateful to the
Minister for his words on this, but cancellations and the
inability to book a return ticket mean that people are not
travelling on the train; they are choosing to get in the car
instead. Will the Minister take to Avanti the clear message that
it must improve and improve quickly or its contract will be in
jeopardy?
My hon. Friend puts her points very well. We have been clear that
improvements need to be made for this contract to continue beyond
April.
(Barnsley Central) (Lab)
Yorkshire continues to be blighted by unreliable services, but it
was very good to see Mayor in West Yorkshire
telling Transpennine Express to
come up with an immediate solution to the chaos that has left so
many passengers deeply exasperated. One thing the Department
could do is to make sure that negotiations on rest-day working
are meaningful and deliver an agreement with the trade unions.
Rest-day working, as the Minister will know, is separate from
terms and conditions, and an agreement would make an almost
overnight difference. The Secretary of State has indicated that
she is open to an agreement. Can the Minister update us on what
progress is being made?
Again, it is worth noting that, in the case of Avanti—I shall
talk specifically about Avanti as it is the subject of today’s
urgent question—agreement on rest-day working with the trade
unions had been in place for some period of time, and that it
suddenly ceased in those volunteering to undertake it. This is
not a case of there not being an agreement. For example, if
people started volunteering for rest-day working tomorrow, they
could pick it up and do it again. That said, is it sensible to be
having large parts of a key train line relying on rest-day
working? The obvious answer is no, which is why we want to look
at wider modernisation—we may have some difference of opinion on
that, but it is a key point—and on how additional drivers are
being trained so that the December recovery plan for Avanti does
not rely on driver rest-day working.
(Delyn) (Ind)
One of the biggest problems on the north Wales coast line is that
when Avanti stopped its services, my constituents had to put up
with Welsh Labour’s Transport for Wales service instead, which is
just as unreliable. It is so overcrowded that it looks a bit like
the tube at rush hour. With a little bit of sympathy for Avanti’s
situation, I have been trying to schedule my own train travel
recently, and it is just as difficult to get a train because of
strike action going on as because of the problems with getting
tickets. Does the Minister agree that the hardest part for the
public is uncertainty and cancellations? Would it not be better
for Avanti to run fewer services well, especially down the north
Wales coast line, rather than making promises that it just cannot
keep?
The hon. Member is right to suggest that this idea of a publicly
owned transport service being some sort of panacea of great
customer service is rather false. It is interesting to hear the
examples that he highlights of the service offered by the Welsh
Government, which his own constituents get to experience. On the
balance between reliability and the number of services being run,
the reduced timetable was put in place partly to ensure that
services would run. That said, the service is clearly not at the
level that we would wish. That is why more than 100 drivers will
have been trained between April and November, which is when we
look to bring back the main timetable. Ultimately, it is for
Avanti to deliver the services that it is contracted to
provide.
(Blackburn) (Lab)
The west coast Avanti line has been dysfunctional for many
months. The Minister is saying that we need to give Avanti the
opportunity. Let me give him some recent examples. Today, 44
services have been cancelled on the Transpennine route. On
Thursday, if people tried to purchase a ticket online, they could
not. No tickets were available until 9.10 in the evening. If
someone is travelling back to Lancashire, that is a long time to
hang about in London and it gets them home very late. The
Minister says that we have seen improvements, but we have not. He
says that he will give Avanti another six months. Are we really
saying that people in Lancashire have to wait six months for an
improvement that is unlikely to come, while the Minister decides
to continue to reward bad service?
I make the point that the TransPennnine Express is a separate
franchise from Avanti, although FirstGroup is the overall
operator. We are starting to see the reinstatement of some
services as new drivers are being trained, but we are clear that
the overall service is unacceptable and needs to improve. The
idea that just sticking it into the OLR tomorrow morning will
suddenly resolve all the problems is not practical, but we are
very clear that if we do not see the significant improvements
that we need to see post the December improvement plan being
implemented, we will need to take a careful view of the long-term
future of the franchise.
(Aberconwy) (Con)
Residents of Aberconwy know only too well the importance of the
services that run on the north Wales main line. Indeed, the UK
connectivity review reflected the strategic importance of that
infrastructure, but, unfortunately, the Avanti emergency
timetable does not seem to recognise that; it barely delivers a
main line service. Effectively giving north Wales branch line
status is causing real problems. Recently, I caught a Crewe to
Chester connection. It was a single carriage that only left the
station when six people had crammed into the toilet and it still
left people behind on the platform. Will the Minister confirm
that, in any future considerations of the franchise, it will bear
the name the north Wales and west coast main line to reflect the
strategic importance of north Wales to the rail service?
From my own time in the Wales Office, I am conscious of the vital
economic role that the railway plays in north Wales in terms of
economic performance. As my hon. Friend says, the current service
is not acceptable. We look forward in December to seeing the
restoration of the majority of direct services. I hope that he
will appreciate why I am not going to commit to a rebranding
exercise on the Floor of the House this afternoon, but I am sure
many colleagues will have a view as to whether the current name
that the line operates under is the best compared with some of
the other names that could have been chosen, particularly the old
LMS one.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
Why does this Minister insist on defending the indefensible?
Avanti failing is nothing new. It has failed virtually since day
one when it took over the contract from Virgin. The Minister says
that it has daily meetings and his officials have meetings
frequently with Avanti. Has he pushed Avanti on the fact that,
for too many weekends and days of the week, my constituents
cannot book advance tickets online? Has he pushed it on the fact
that, for some inexplicable reason, a journey on the west coast
main line between Stockport and Euston is far more expensive than
the same journey on the east coast main line between Wakefield
and King’s Cross? He talks about performance-related payments to
Avanti. If he cannot get a grip on Avanti, do we need
performance-related payments on the Minister?
It is always good to get constructive suggestions as to how we
improve train services. On the service, I think I have said
“unacceptable” more times at the Dispatch Box on this subject
than on pretty much anything else. No one is arguing that the
current service is acceptable as we go forward. However, simply
chucking it into the OLR and giving it a new brand to resolve
every problem is not a solution on its own. That is why we have
engaged and worked with Avanti on the December improvement plan.
We expect it to deliver and if it does not, clearly, there will
be consequences when we come to the April contract extension
decision.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Con)
The Minister says that he has given Avanti a six-month contract
extension to allow it to deliver its improvement plan. What
assurance can he give the House and commuters that services will
not deteriorate again to their current, unacceptable levels if
the Avanti contract is extended beyond then?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that. As part of
taking a longer-term decision, we would want to see how the
improvement was sustainable—for example, as I have touched on
already, by moving away from a reliance on rest-day working for
train drivers as the core of delivering the service. We want to
look—in the same way, by the way, that the OLR would have to look
if it took over operations—at ensuring that any improvement is
sustainable and provides a long-term basis of confidence for the
service and particularly the communities that rely on it.
(Sefton Central) (Lab)
Does the Minister not understand that the public believe the
Government, by extending the Avanti franchise, are taking them
for fools? Does he not realise that the only way out of this for
him and his ministerial colleagues, and the only way to end the
public’s anger towards their Government, is to remove the Avanti
franchise and do it now?
I have to say, that was not the universal reaction to the
decision we took, when we were clear that this was a six-month
probationary period. We look forward to seeing the implementation
of the December timetable changes and the improvement plan, and
to closely monitoring the progress being made towards it,
including, for example, the training of new drivers to fulfil it.
As I have said a number of times, simply repainting the engine
and giving the franchise a different name will not solve many of
these issues.
(Stretford and Urmston)
(Lab)
It currently costs £369.40 for a standard open return between
Manchester and London. That would be excessive at the best of
times. When the company is completely incapable of running a
reliable service, it is downright unacceptable. The Minister has
said repeatedly that there are already signs of improvement. That
is not the experience of Avanti passengers. Can he describe
exactly what signs of improvements he is talking about?
We have already begun to see the restoration of some peak-time
services. It is also worth saying that very few people use the
open return-price ticket—I certainly did not use it when I
travelled down from Manchester on Sunday, and nor would many
other travellers. We are starting to see improvements. We are
seeing the profile of new drivers joining the service. Drivers
already in training will be able to start driving trains before
the December improvement plan is in place. However, we are clear
that this is a probationary period and we look forward to seeing
the outcomes.
(Liverpool, Riverside)
(Lab)
I and my constituents know only too well that the Avanti West
Coast line is the worst performing on the rail network, although
the workers do a great job and should be commended. My great city
of Liverpool will be hosting the Eurovision song contest in my
Liverpool, Riverside constituency next year. We need an efficient
and effective service to get people to the city and support the
local economy. Does the Minister agree that, instead of rewarding
failure, it is time to terminate the contract and bring the
service back in house?
We are all looking forward to the delivery of a successful
Eurovision in Liverpool, or Lviv-erpool, as some people are
deciding to call it—[Interruption]—although I understand that
there is some disappointment from colleagues who were hoping that
Glasgow would be the venue. Certainly, the rail network will need
to play a key part in making sure that we can support that event
fully.
As I have touched on a couple of times, just stripping Avanti of
the contract today would not be a magic bullet to solve the
problems we are seeing. Avanti has its improvement plan for
December, we are working closely to monitor progress on it, and
we are clear that we expect to see significant and sustainable
improvements following that plan, ahead of taking a final
decision in April.
Mrs (Birmingham, Erdington)
(Lab)
People in Birmingham are absolutely sick to the back teeth of
Avanti West Coast—its cancelled trains and overcrowded carriages,
the cuts to services and the lack of ticket availability. It is
absolutely ridiculous that its contract was extended. If we are
serious about levelling up and improving services, we need to
have plans in place to end this chaos. So Minister, do you think
that—
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
Order. Not “Minister, do you think?” but, “Madam Deputy Speaker,
does the Minister think?”
Mrs
Madam Deputy Speaker, does the Minister think that rewarding
Avanti with a contract extension was a mistake?
I do not believe it is a mistake to focus on an improvement plan
that will come in in December and to carefully monitor progress.
As I have said, DFT officials engage daily with Avanti on the
progress it is making. We are not just accepting assurances; we
want to see clear, concrete evidence—for example, drivers in
training and drivers completing training are the core part of
resolving some of these issues. That is where we believe our
focus should be now. We will clearly look to see how the
improvements are made in December. If they are not, and if the
service is still as it is, clearly we will take a decision ahead
of the main contract renewal in April. I also understand that
Avanti accepts that the current service is not appropriate.
While we are talking about Birmingham, we should remember that
this does not reflect on the whole rail network, as the hon. Lady
knows. Chiltern runs a very effective service to Birmingham Moor
Street, which provides a good option for many people looking to
travel to London from Birmingham, and it has operated it
successfully for many years.
(Manchester, Withington)
(Lab)
My constituents in south Manchester are contacting me, frustrated
and angry about Avanti’s lack of service. They cannot book seats,
and even if they can, the trains are ridiculously overcrowded or
cancelled completely. The Minister is setting great store by this
so-called December improvement plan, but how can we have any
confidence in that plan, given the current terrible service,
which by the way is actually getting worse? Avanti should have
lost the contract already, but if we do not see massive and fast
improvements in December, will he please commit to stepping in
quickly, and long before April, to sort out this shambles?
As the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, we are constantly
monitoring the performance. As for removing the franchise, we
clearly have to go through a due process, as I am sure he would
accept it. We believe that there is a credible plan for
improvements in December. We are starting to see evidence of new
train drivers actually qualifying, and we are seeing more in
training. The December improvement plan has been launched
without, for example, relying on driver rest-day working, the
withdrawal of which has been the absolute core of the problems
affecting Avanti trains. Certainly, we will continue to engage
closely with Avanti beyond the implementation in December, and
the company knows full well what is at stake ahead of the main
contract renewal in April if the services do not significantly
improve. In the meantime, we are being clear with Avanti that
issues such as the availability of online ticketing also need to
improve. Weekday availability has improved significantly, but I
accept that we now need to see the same for weekends.
(Birmingham, Perry Barr)
(Lab)
Avanti is having a huge effect on the economy of Birmingham and
the region, because of the huge inward investments that
Birmingham is drawing in from HSBC and other financial
institutions, and because of the region making other
investments—without the support of , the Mayor. They are doing a
fantastic job. We need to support the workers and the travelling
public, who are having to suffer. For example, I could not change
my ticket down to London and had to wait until the train came; I
was told to do it on the train, because they could not guarantee
the service arriving. That is not an effective way to manage the
service. We should not be looking to extend the contract to
April. The Minister should now put the contract into abeyance,
and by December we should be training more people to get a new
contract in place and have the service running properly for
Birmingham and the west midlands.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
Order. What is the hon. Gentleman’s question?
Mr Mahmood
The question is that the Minister should not have agreed this
six-month extension, but should start working on it now, and by
December—
Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. That is a statement. Does the hon. Gentleman have a
question for the Minister?
Mr Mahmood
Will the Minister put in place a programme now so that we can
take charge of Avanti trains by December?
As I have touched on already, we do not believe that simply
popping this into the OLR and changing the paintwork on the
trains, as if that is a magic solution, will be an effective way
forward. We believe that tackling the underlying issues, such as
ensuring that there are an adequate number of train drivers to
operate the service without using rest day working for drivers,
is at the core of a successful operation, either under the
current franchise or potentially under the OLR in future. We are
clear that we will expect to see significant improvements
following implementation of the plan put forward by Avanti in
taking a long-term contract decision.
I am always pleased to hear of the investment being secured for
Birmingham, particularly by Mayor . Of course, one of the biggest
drivers of investment in Birmingham now—this is one thing that
there probably will be some agreement on—is Birmingham Curzon
Street. That is being built and will be the main terminus for
HS2, which has enjoyed cross-party support, and it is starting to
drive investment in Birmingham, and we very much welcome it.
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab)
I am pleased to be able to speak to the Minister about this. We
were due to meet yesterday, but unfortunately he cancelled at
short notice, leaving me with a feeling not dissimilar to that of
Avanti West Coast passengers. I have no criticism of him for
that, because he had important business in the House. I hope we
are able to meet soon, because I have been trying to meet him and
his many, many predecessors for the last six months to discuss
this issue. The state of direct services between Chester and
London is appalling. We were promised improvements by Avanti, but
the services have actually gone backwards. Having seen how Avanti
has failed to deliver on its promises so far, I have no
confidence that it will be able to pull this off in time for the
renewal of the franchise. Does the Minister have confidence in
Avanti?
It is worth pointing out what I was doing yesterday afternoon: I
was in the Chamber answering an urgent question. Urgent questions
seem to be a bit like buses; you wait a while for one, and then
two come along fairly close together.
We have scrutinised carefully what Avanti is doing with its
improvement plan for December. As I have said a number of times,
we are not just going to accept assurances that it will work. DFT
officials are engaging daily—weekly at more senior levels—to
ensure that the company is hitting the milestones it needs to for
this improvement plan. We all want to see the line operate and
move forward successfully. However, we have been clear that if it
does not, and if by April the improvements have not happened and
been sustained, we will follow the due process, but that may well
have a strong impact on the long-term decision.
(Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)
Extending Avanti’s contract by six months was the wrong thing to
do. The travelling public have had enough of this company running
their train service into the ground. Liverpool is a visitor
economy. I represent both the city’s football clubs, and it is
time for us to have a decent working service. That will also rely
on Avanti staff. Avanti’s tactics of smearing its own workforce
and making them a scapegoat for its mismanagement mean that it
will not recover this service while doing that. What is the
Minister doing to improve industrial relations between the
workforce and the company, and will he consider acting today, not
waiting months more?
We are already acting; there is daily engagement with Avanti on
how it is progressing towards its improvement plan. As I have
made clear, we are not just accepting assurances that it will
make improvements in December, but looking for clear evidence
that it is meeting the milestones to do just that. We are keen
that there should be good relationships between employers and
their employees in the sector. For all the problems that are well
known about, rail sector management and employees worked closely
together for the state funeral and the events following the death
of Her late Majesty, with many going the extra mile and working
into the early hours of the morning to ensure that people could
attend the events and get home afterwards. Despite the idea that
there are problems in particular parts, there was a real team
effort for that event across the rail sector. We are engaging
actively, and we look forward to seeing the improvements that the
December plan will bring; if not, consequences will follow.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
And finally, from the east coast,.
(Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Why does the Minister insist on
rewarding private sector failure—Avanti or Transpennine Express—with
more public money, while refusing to invest in transformative
public transport services such as Northern Powerhouse Rail? Does
he think that my constituents, deprived of an affordable or
reliable means of getting to work, are pleased to know that their
hard-worked-for taxes are being used by this Government literally
to pay the private sector to profit from their misery?
I have covered a number of times the position on performance
payments in the Avanti contract. The hon. Lady’s constituents
will have seen the clear commitment we have made to investment in
Northern Powerhouse Rail over the last few months. They will have
seen the start of work on the trans-Pennine upgrade. They will
have seen the integrated rail plan, and they will see the first
new main line to be built in this country along the spine of it
since the Victorian era, already moving from London to Birmingham
and then on to Manchester after that. I think they will be
slightly more impressed by that than whatever they can see from
13 years of investment under Labour.
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