Increasing train services between Manchester and London is an' absolute priority', a minister has said - despite failing to indicate when that could happen. Transport minister Trudy Harrison faced shouts of 'when?' from Labour MPs after she made the comments in response to an urgent Commons question about Avanti West Coast.
The operator has run fewer than half of its normal services since August 14 and blamed the reduction on 'unofficial strike action' by drivers. The firm says it normally runs around 400 trains per week with drivers voluntarily working on their rest days – for extra pay – but that 'dropped suddenly to fewer than 50'.
Avanti announced earlier this month that it was cutting the number of trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly from one every 20 minutes to one an hour 'until further notice'. The operator said it had cut trains in the wake of industrial action 'to ensure a reliable service is delivered so customers can travel with greater certainty'.
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The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who has previously warned he would call for Avanti's contract to be cancelled unless its full timetable is restored, has said the under-fire operator is now in 'the last chance saloon' following criticism from passengers and politicians, calling for an urgent meeting with new Prime Minister Liz Truss and the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps.
Dozens of TPE trains are currently being cancelled at short notice each day. It was announced on Friday (September 2) that managing director Phil Whittingham will leave his role on September 15.
Ms Harrison told MPs: "Avanti has reduced their timetable in response to the withdrawal of the rest day working. Reducing the timetable provided better certainty and reliability for passengers as it reduced the number of short-notice cancellations.
"The department continues to work closely with Avanti to monitor performance whilst they continue to review the demand data and the position regarding train crew availability to inform options to reliably increase services.
"An increase in services between Manchester and London remains an absolute priority and Avanti will continue to look for opportunities to support passengers and businesses along this route."
Ms Harrison earlier said the West Coast partnership franchise agreement is due to expire on October 16, adding a 'decision has yet to be taken' by the Transport Secretary.
She added: "Given the market and the commercially sensitive nature of the outcome, further information cannot be provided at this time."
Labour MP for Stockport Navendu Mishra said: "The chaos continues to blight the lives of thousands of people in my own constituency, but also across the north west of England and other parts of the UK."
He added: "Aslef and RMT union members across the country have indeed recently been on strike in defence of their pay, terms and conditions. And I pay tribute to their members for doing so.
"But their strike action has no bearing on the fact that Avanti have a business model which expects train drivers to work their rest days, rather than having a sufficient staffing level as a way of maintaining the service."
Mr Mishra added: "There have been underlying problems at Avanti for a very long time. There continues to be a lack of clarity and certainty around the release of tickets."
Avanti West Coast - the brand name for a partnership between transport company FirstGroup and Italian firm Trenitalia - have run services on the West Coast Main Line route from December 2019 after the demise of Virgin Trains. The 400-mile train network links London with towns and cities across England, north Wales and Scotland.
A second major train operator, TransPennine Express, has announced temporary timetable changes which will lead to reduced services following ongoing anger over rail cuts made by Avanti West Coast. TPE blamed 'higher-than-normal sickness levels and ongoing industrial relations issues' for the move, together with a 'training backlog as a direct result of Covid'.
The operator, which is owned by FirstGroup, said it would reduce the number of planned trains between north-west England and Scotland by 23 per cent from next Monday in a further blow for passengers who use the West Coast Main Line. Avanti West Coast, which also operates on the West Coast route, has run fewer than half of its normal services since August 14.
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: "We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience.
"Our customers and communities deserve a dependable train service, so we’re currently working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way.
"Resolving this situation requires a robust plan that will allow us to gradually increase services without being reliant on traincrew overtime, which has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding."
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