More than two months after Avanti West Coast announced it was stripping back its Manchester timetable, passengers are still facing difficulties. The company which runs services between Piccadilly and London Euston was given six months to improve by the Government last week.
Bosses at Avanti West Coast freely admit the operator is not living up to passengers' expectations at the moment. When the timetable was cut down to one service an hour between Manchester and London in August with additional services at busiest times, it also suspended ticket sales, with customers told several services were ‘sold out’.
Now, passengers are still struggling to plan journeys. A handful of direct services between Manchester and London over the next week are listed as 'sold out' on Avanti's website.
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From October 22 to 30, direct ticket sales between the two cities are currently unavailable. Meanwhile, from late October and throughout November, weekend tickets are unavailable - and while additional services are being listed on weekdays, they are currently described as 'sold out'.
The Manchester Evening News understands that tickets for October 24 to 28 are due to be released tomorrow (October 12), with services set to be affected by engineering works in the midlands on that week and the weekends either side of it. For services from October 31 onwards, Avanti is expected to confirm its weekday timetable by the end of this month, while the company says it is 'working hard to make weekend travel dates available as far in advance as possible'.
It's not only services between Manchester and London that are affected, and customers have been growing frustrated. On Twitter, @wendynatale wrote: "@AvantiWestCoast I’ve been waiting for tickets MCR - EUS to be released for Sunday 23rd or Mon 24th. Never got the email alert. But just checked & NOT A SINGLE DIRECT TRAIN ON EITHER DAY has tickets available! Seriously??? @AndyBurnhamGM."
@hurricane_ros tweeted: "I've not experienced the Avanti West Coast travel chaos directly so far - when do the available trains for Saturday go live? Is it with 24 hours' notice?"
@lisajthompson18 added: "Hey Avanti, When are you going to sort out weekends in November. Your inability to sort out a train timetable is stopping me from saving money and making plans. @annietrev you need to listen to @AndyBurnhamGM an get this sorted ASAP."
The Department for Transport suggested the next six months would be a final chance for Avanti West Coast to prove it can run the service. Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said last Friday: "Services on Avanti have been unacceptable and while the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers."
Manchester Council leader Bev Craig, Greater Manchester MPs and Transport for the North all lined up to criticise the Government's decision last Friday - insisting Avanti West Coast had caused strife for passengers and the economy. Meanwhile, mayor Andy Burnham demanded the Government monitors the company's performance every day, and insisted a replacement should be found if performance doesn't improve by mid-December.
Regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, confirmed last Friday that it had received assurances Avanti would return to releasing timetables at least six weeks in advance. It comes as the company previously announced it would restore three services an hour between Manchester and London when the new December timetables are published.
Avanti West Coast blamed 'unofficial strike action' for hacking its timetable down in August. The company had previously relied on drivers working overtime to run all its services on the timetable.
It now says around 100 more drivers will have been recruited and trained from April to December this year to help ensure the railway does not need to rely on crew working overtime. But one of the changes Avanti West Coast is making is already proving controversial, with rail workers union RMT announcing two days of strike action due to rosters being 'imposed' on train managers.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch says the company has 'treated members appallingly' while also causing 'chaos' to passengers this year. Avanti West Coast has criticised the move, with industrial action due to take place on October 22 and November 6.
Barry Milsom, executive director of operations and safety for Avanti West Coast, said in September: “We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this is causing. The decision to reduce our timetable in August was not taken lightly but our customers and communities deserve a dependable train service, so we’ve been working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way."
Avanti West Coast customers are encouraged to sign up for ticket alerts for the latest timetable announcements and best value fares. See the company's website for more details.
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