Avanti is in line to receive over £1m in government bonuses despite months of difficulties on their network, according to reports.
The operator, which runs the West Coast Main Line - including the Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston route, has been under fire for its service in recent months. Passengers have told the ECHO about difficulties in using Avanti's network recently.
People have spoken about issues with buying tickets, with weekend timetables often not confirmed until mere days before departure, as well as crowded trains and delayed services. Politicians have been very critical of the operator, which cut services from London to many of its destinations in an amended timetable earlier this year, but kept Liverpool to London services at one in each direction.
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Speaking outside Liverpool Lime Street station last month, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham called for Avanti and TransPennine Express to be stripped of their franchises if they don't improve. Avanti is currently in the middle of a six-month stop gap extension to its contract in order to allow the government to assess whether it can make improvements to show it is capable of running its routes.
Avanti is one of four operators owned by FirstGroup, which made £19.1m in 'management fees' during the six months to September, The Telegraph reports.
Train companies are paid management fees by the government to run their services, comprising a fixed fee and a variable performance fee. Bonuses are paid on top of this as a performance fee.
Avanti is expected to receive £2m of the management fees paid to FirstGroup including the fixed and variable elements. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who has been among the most vocal critics of Avanti, responded to the news on Twitter, writing: "Let these words sink in: “Avanti has performed well enough to trigger a performance fee"."
In another tweet, Mr Burnham said: "This will surely enrage anyone who has travelled on Avanti West Coast recently".
Responding to Mr Burnham, a number of people shared their anger at the news. On Twitter, @hlplatt said: "Hard to read without getting angry. Most people around me are bored of me talking about how rubbish Avanti are all the time."
Another user called Jennifer said: "I cannot believe this! I’m fuming!"
Over the weekend, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The performance of Avanti has been a disgrace, and frankly, people have acted far too slowly. They’ve just not delivered for people.
“It’s not just damaging the lives of people because they have these appalling delays, cancellations and poor journeys. It’s hampering the economy.”
Responding to Telegraph's report, FirstGroup said: "There are significant challenges at present in parts of our rail operations, particularly in Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express, where our teams are completely focused on delivering their plans to tackle the issues that are causing disruption for passengers.”
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has also been critical of the service offered by Avanti and other rail operators in the North of England. In October, he told the ECHO : “The situation with the Avanti network is completely unacceptable.
"Delays and cancellations, not just on one bad day, but sustained through months of chaos have left passengers unable to plan journeys for the days and weeks ahead. When people are relying on them for their jobs and businesses, it’s just not on.
“While Avanti’s decision to reduce a number of its intercity services to London to an hourly service is causing mayhem for other Northern cities, it’s not lost on me that the reduction to an hourly service to London has been the standard provision for our region, despite a promised increase to a half hourly service.
When approached for comment about the task facing the operator over the six month contract, an Avanti spokesperson told the ECHO : “We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience caused. While we continue to serve Liverpool with one train per hour, our customers and communities deserve a dependable train service, and we’re working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way, as well increase the booking horizon for weekends.
“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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