The government could intervene if Avanti don’t make ‘significant’ improvements according to the transport minister.

In response to an urgent question in the House of Commons about Avanti’s performance by the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, Cat Smith, Kevin Foster MP said: "The current service is unacceptable, and we will look for significant improvements before April if we're to look to extend this contract any further."

Last month, Avanti was given a six-month extension by the then transport minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan but was warned that improvements were necessary in order for it to be renewed in the long term.

The government has the power to run services via its Operator of Last Resort which currently runs the East Coast mainline under the guise of LNER.

According to the transport minister, the government will "consider Avanti's performance while finalising a national rail contract for consideration in relation to the route alongside preparations by the Operator of Last Resort for if it becomes necessary for them to step in at the end of the extension period."

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Avanti train managers took strike action last week end over the imposition of staff rosters which the RMT said was the “culmination of months of neglect.”

It is currently not possible to book weekend tickets for Avanti services in November due to unfinished timetables.

The problems faced by Avanti over the last few months have been mainly caused by a lack of drivers and a reliance on current drivers' working overtime.

Around 100 extra drivers will have begun work for Avanti by the end of the year and services are hoped to return to a level of normality, the group said.

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 caused.

“Our customers and communities deserve a dependable train service, and we’re working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way.

“Resolving this situation requires a robust plan that will allow us to 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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