Troubled train operator Avanti West Coast has been given until April to improve its services, with only a short-term extension to its current contract.
Avanti, which operates the main Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston service, has been widely criticised for slashing timetables and suspending ticket sales.
The Government has warned the train operator it needs to deliver an "urgent increase in services" after being hit by major operational issues in recent months, primarily caused by a shortage of available drivers, reports Wales Online.
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With its current contract coming to an end, it has now been given a six-month extension which will see it continuing to run services on the West Coast Mainline until April 1, 2023. The Government says this will give Avanti the opportunity to improve services.
It says nearly 100 additional drivers will have entered formal service this year between April and December. This, the Government says, has meant the company has begun to add more services as new drivers and those who need re-training become available to work.
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "We need train services which are reliable and resilient to modern day life. Services on Avanti have been unacceptable and while the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers.
"We have agreed a 6-month extension to Avanti to assess whether it is capable of running this crucial route to a standard passengers deserve and expect. The problems facing Avanti over recent weeks stem from old working practices that mean shifts are often covered by existing drivers volunteering to work above their 35 contracted hours.
"This antiquated practice shows just how urgent it is for us to modernise our railways, so passengers benefit from reliable services that don’t rely on the goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime."
Alongside rolling ahead with training new drivers, Avanti’s service improvement plans include:
- The successful delivery of its timetable recovery plan and a significant, sustained and reliable increase from about 180 trains per day to 264 trains per day on weekdays as new and retrained drivers become available
- Continuing to deliver on its traincrew recruitment and plans to reduce reliance on rest day working to operate services
- Extending booking options for passengers, making the full range of tickets available as early as possible
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has previously written to the former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, in which he states that the "current situation on what is supposed to be the country's premier intercity rail network is completely unacceptable." Mayor Rotheram said that the current hourly service between London and Liverpool was already "completely inadequate."
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