Wednesday 20 March, a Transport for the North (TfN) board held in Leeds officially passed a motion to write to the Secretary of State asking for the firm to be taken off the key West Coast Main Line route.
Two options were considered by the board – to set a target for improvement by June or face further measures or to terminate the contract straight away.
After hearing from Avanti’s MD Steve Montgomery about the poor performance over many months the board opted to take immediate action.
Transport for the North will now write to the Secretary of State for Transport that Avanti West Coast’s contract should be terminated at the earliest possible opportunity, with the Operator of Last Resort taking on responsibility in the short term for the delivery of long-distance services on the West Coast Main Line.
In December, TfN wrote to the transport secretary asking him to instruct officials to conduct a critical review into Avanti West Coast’s operation given the deteriorating service, after the operator announced a number of cuts to services over the busy Christmas period.
As Avanti Coast presented its defence at the meeting, the coalition of Northern Councils berated the rail operator for its poor handling on the line including frequent cancellations, delays and the economic impact these issues were having on the region.
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West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said: “Quite frankly it feels like an echo of TransPennine Express. It’s always someone else’s fault. Your problem is now becoming my problem. People in London are now coming to Leeds and they’re cramming onto TransPennine to get to Manchester.
“When you sneeze, we’re catching the cold.”
Last year, the Department for Transport awarded Avanti a nine-year contract starting from October 2023. Under the terms of the new agreement, after three years has passed, the transport secretary can terminate the contract at any point with three months’ notice.
However, TfN was not convinced and voted unanimously to submit statutory advice to the government that Avanti West Coast’s contract should be terminated at the earliest possible opportunity.
It will now be up to the government to decide whether Avanti’s services are brought under public control.
Responding to the decision on the day, Transport for the North chair Lord Patrick McLoughlin said: “Today’s board was very clear. The performance on the West Coast Main Line by Avanti has been so poor, for so long that action now must be taken.
“We will be writing statutory advice today to the Secretary of State calling for Avanti to be relieved of its contract. The travelling public deserve a service they can rely on. But Avanti has fallen far too short of expectations for far too long now.”
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