In September 2023, Avanti West Coast signed a nine-year agreement to continue operating the West Coast Main Line service.
Northern Transport Authority said train operator Avanti West Coast (AWC) should be terminated from its contract “at the earliest opportunity”.
The group represents transport, business and political leaders from the north of England.
“The continuation of the current situation is unacceptable to North Korea,” he said, calling on Transport Secretary Mark Harper to take action.
AWC’s parent company said changing carriers will not improve service.
A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson added: “Cancelling Avanti’s contract would only cause further disruption for passengers rather than solving the challenges facing the operator.” .
“These include restrictive labor practices that cannot be reformed without Aslef’s consent.”
He added: “However, improvements still need to be made. That’s why it’s important that we continue to address the fundamental challenges facing operators, and if they don’t, we continue to hold governments to account.” Ta.
In September last year, Avanti West Coast’s operating contract was renewed by the DfT for up to nine years, with Mr Harper claiming the company was “back on track” after major disruption.
AWC operates services between London and Scotland via the West Midlands and North West England and is owned by FirstGroup, a joint venture with Italian company Trenitalia.
At a meeting in Leeds, the Transport for the North (TfN) board considered two options. They must either demand that Avanti improve its performance by June or seek an immediate termination of the contract.
After hearing about AWC’s performance from Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of First Rail, the TfN board, including Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotherham, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, confirmed the service. Voted to request that it be returned to public ownership.
The company wants Operator of Last Resort (OLR) to take on short-term responsibility for providing long-distance service on the West Coast Main Line.
Avanti West Coast canceled 9.1% of its services in the four weeks to March 2, according to figures from the Department of Rail and Road.
In December, TfN wrote to Mr Harper asking him to instruct the authority to carry out a critical review of Avanti West Coast’s operations in light of the deterioration in services.
This comes after the carrier announced a number of service cuts during the busy Christmas season.
TfN chairman Lord McLoughlin said: “Today’s board meeting was very clear: Avanti’s performance on the West Coast Main Line has been very poor for a long time and we must act now.” Ta.
“The traveling public needs service they can trust. But Avanti has fallen far short of expectations for far too long.”
A First Group spokesperson said: “Our team at Avanti West Coast and all of our rail operator colleagues are dedicated and working hard to deliver the service our customers expect.” .
“Over the past few months, there have been some days when service has been lower than expected due to a variety of reasons, including historic furlough policies and driver shortages due to rising levels of illness.
“Changing operators will not affect these fundamental issues affecting services, which is why we will continue to work with trade unions, with whom we have had positive discussions recently, and with government and others on our plans to deliver. It is critical that we continue to collaborate with our stakeholders to improve the customer experience, resiliency, and long-term improvements in our new fleet. ”
OLR already operates the London North Eastern Railway, Northern South Eastern Railway and the TransPennine Express.
