Avanti railway to remain private until 2026 despite disastrous record of cancellations

Avanti was Britain’s worst punctual company in the first quarter of this year and all of last year, with its trains arriving on time at just 44% of stops, according to data from the Office of Rail and Road.

It also ranked last in reliability in the first quarter of 2024, with nearly 9% of its services canceled, and second worst for the year, the data showed.

Avanti’s delays are particularly disruptive for passengers as the company operates major rail links between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland, operating Europe’s busiest intercity network.

Last week, hundreds of people were forced to stand for hours after two trains from London’s Euston station were cancelled. Vestibules and aisles were packed with passengers and bags, and fights broke out as people leaving the train struggled to get off at their stations before departure.

Transport Minister Louise Haigh singled out Avanti for her first showdown with a rail operator last Tuesday. Andy Mellors was “summoned” to a meeting with the minister and was heavily criticised for the company’s “unacceptable performance”.

Ms Haigh said she had demanded “immediate action to raise standards” and was prepared to take “bold steps to act quickly and address the problems”.

The government has committed to nationalising rail operators within five years of the current parliament as part of the creation of Great British Railways, which will also take over track maintenance operations currently under the responsibility of Network Rail.

Four of the 20 contracts are already being run by the Department for Transport’s operator of last resort, after being taken over following the pandemic under the Conservative administration.

Six others, including Scotrail, Transport for Wales Rail and London Overground, are run by devolved authorities, either directly or through hybrid public-private arrangements.

Labour’s policy document, Getting Britain Moving, states that the remaining 10 private contracts will be nationalised when they expire or are “broken down by operators who fail to meet passenger expectations”.

The king’s speech confirmed this approach, with the government saying that traders could be prosecuted on the stock exchange earlier if they “failed to honour their commitments”.

However, despite the tough talk, government sources have played down the likelihood that Avanti will be stripped of the West Coast contract in the near future.

Avanti described the discussions with Ms Haigh, which also included Network Rail, as “constructive”.

Last September, Avanti was awarded a controversial new contract by Ms Haigh’s predecessor, Mark Harper, who suggested the company was “back on track”.

The company, 70% owned by FirstGroup and the remainder by Italy’s national rail company Trenitalia, has suffered years of disruption due to crew shortages and a work-to-rule policy by drivers in a pay dispute.

Avanti is said to have informed Ms Haigh of the challenges in improving its operations, including ongoing issues with terms and conditions that the company is seeking to address.

Nearly half of the cancellations that hit Avanti in the most recent period were due to track issues beyond its control. Despite being among the worst offenders when it comes to cancellations, Avanti saw the biggest reduction of any operator last year.

If the government bases its nationalisation timetable on break clauses and the expiry of agreements, as now seems likely, one of the first contracts to be made public could be that of Greater Anglia, which ranks as the most punctual operator in the country.

The only contract that would remain private longer than Avanti West Coast would be Cross Country. It ranked second in punctuality and cancellations in the three months to March and had an even worse cancellation record than Avanti for the year as a whole.