Statement on the extension of the Avanti West Coast Rail contract from Virginia Crosbie MP

Conservative MP for Ynys Mon Virginia Crosbie said, "I am gobsmacked the government has given this extension as will many passengers and businesses who are at their wits’ end over this terrible, unreliable service.

The performance of Avanti has improved only very slightly but it is still miles away from what it should be.

I will be seeking an urgent meeting with the rail minister to better understand this decision.

In that meeting I will be explaining how my own community of Ynys Môn has been particularly badly hit by how bad Avanti is with a lack of direct trains between Holyhead and London, cancelled services and poor communication.

“We simply do not have a seven-day-a-week rail service and it’s not good enough. Time and again Avanti has promised improvements but it has more often than not come to nothing.

I have no faith Avanti can turn this service around - something I said in a parliamentary debate four months ago - and I will again tell the minister my view has not changed."