- Avanti West Coast awarded long-term contract following
significant improvements across reliability, punctuality and
customer satisfaction
- Transport Secretary and Rail Minister continue to recognise
the vital routes Avanti West Coast serve and the need for
passenger confidence
- new contract separately awarded to Cross Country which will
bring improved services and refreshed train fleets for passengers
The Department for Transport has today (19 September 2023)
awarded Avanti West Coast a long-term contract which will enable
them to deliver improved services for passengers, after
dramatically reducing cancellations to as low as 1.1% over the
past year.
A long-term contract will allow the operator to plan ahead,
giving them the certainty they need to prepare advance
timetables, roll out new train fleets and continue their work to
improve services – benefitting passengers in both the short and
long term.
This comes after the department placed Avanti West Coast on 2
consecutive short-term, 6-month contracts and ordered them to
develop a recovery plan aimed at addressing poor performance on
vital routes – including between Manchester, Birmingham and
London – which were brought on by a shortage of available
drivers.
Alongside the recovery plan which prioritised training new
drivers, reducing reliance on rest day working and getting
tickets on sale earlier, a recovery timetable was introduced
which has seen services increase from 180 trains per day to 264
on weekdays – the highest level in over 2 years.
By the end of the first 6-month contract in March, Avanti had
already made significant progress towards its recovery, with 40%
more services being run and cancellations within Avanti’s control
falling to 4.2%. Those arrangements were further extended to
ensure these improvements would continue and passengers would
feel confident in using the services again.
Since then, Avanti West Coast’s services have seen further
improvements:
- cancellations have consistently been below 3% since March
2023, and as low as 1.1% in July 2023, down from 13% in January
2023
- over 90% of trains now arrive within 15 minutes of their
scheduled time, improved from 75% in December 2022
- over 100 additional drivers have been trained and brought on
since April 2022
- improvements to passenger facilities on trains including
better seats, lighting and charging points
- the introduction of Travel Companion, a WhatsApp channel
which passengers with accessibility needs can use to get
real-time assistance and information on their journeys, allowing
for a more seamless passenger experience for everyone
Transport Secretary 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.
As well as working directly with the operator and local
stakeholders on the recovery plan over the past year, the
government continues to support the industry – including through
setting a mandate – as it engages with unions to ensure we can
take forward much-needed reform, including introducing a reliable
7 day a week service to secure the future of our railways. The
transformation of Avanti’s performance over the past year
demonstrates how, through working closely with government,
setting out clear set goals and being incentivised to succeed,
the private sector can deliver on our railways.
Starting on 15 October 2023, Avanti West Coast’s new National
Rail Contract will have a core term of 3 years and a maximum
possible term of 9 years. After 3 years, the Transport Secretary
can terminate the contract at any point with 3 months’ notice.
The department will stay in close contact with the operator and
local stakeholders to monitor Avanti’s performance as it
continues its progress to a sustained recovery.
Meanwhile, the department has also today awarded Cross Country a
new National Rail Contract, with a core term of 4 years and a
maximum possible term of 8 years.
The contract will also begin on 15 October and includes additions
to help improve services, such as the replacement of the
now-retired High Speed Trains with more modern equivalents,
refurbishment of existing Cross Country train fleets, and the
introduction of direct daily services between Cardiff and
Yorkshire, the North East and Edinburgh from December 2024.