‘Masterclass in poor service’: rail passenger hits out at Avanti over £589 ticket

In October, the government gave Avanti a six-month period to improve or be stripped of the West Coast contract. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A rail passenger who paid an “eye-watering” £589 for a return train ticket from Brighton to Wales has hit out at operator Avanti West Coast for cancelling parts of his journey and providing “a masterclass in poor service”.

Drag performer Le Gateau Chocolat – Gateau for short – paid the sum for a first-class open return ticket between Brighton and Bangor in north Wales to perform for a private customer as a birthday treat.