A new charter service is being launched between London and the North West as an alternative for passengers caught out by the recent disruption to Avanti West Coast services.
Heritage train company Locomotive Services Group, based in Crewe, will begin operating a first-class-only charter service which will go to and from London Euston once a week. The service will only operate on Fridays and will run at 110mph using electric locomotives.
The new service is planned to depart from Crewe at 2.29pm and will run non-stop to London Euston, arriving at 4.12pm. Following this, the trail will return north at 5.28pm, calling at Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Wilmslow, and finally Manchester Picadilly at 8.45pm.
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The operator said passengers will be able to travel "in comfort and style without the stress of normal rail services". It added: "Say goodbye to packed commuter trains and hello to luxurious legroom and cushioned comfort.”
Fares for the service will cost £75 each way. Avanti West Coast passengers booking at the last minute for travel from London Euston and Manchester Picadilly on Fridays in standard class are charged £68.80 for an off-peak single, while first-class travel on the service costs £169.30.
Charter trains have not been used for regular services on Britain’s railways since summer 2018 when heritage operator West Coast Railway ran a shuttle between Windermere and Oxenholme for people visiting the Lake District. Northern had stopped serving the route due to major problems with new timetables.
The launch of the new Manchester to London charter service comes after commuters have faced major disruptions in recent weeks with timetables being slashed and services between the two cities going from three per hour to one per hour. Passengers have also been restricted from booking tickets more than a few days in advance.
Avanti West Coast has blamed the disruption on workers going on "unofficial strike actions" with the number of weekly services it is able to operate, using drivers voluntarily working on rest days for extra pay, has reduced from around 400 to 50. Drivers' union Aslef accuses the operator of failing to employ enough drivers.
It comes as transport secretary Grant Shapps faced accusations that he was “clueless” about rail disruption after overstating the number of trains running between Manchester and London. On Friday, August 19, he faced repeated questioning on BBC Breakfast about why it is currently only possible to catch one train an hour between the cities.
Mr Shapps insisted that is incorrect and there are four services an hour, before later telling the programme there is one an hour on “strike days” caused by “unofficial” industrial action. However, analysis of train timetables by the PA news agency shows one train per hour is scheduled in each direction between Manchester and London until September 10.
Great Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham wrote on Twitter: “I can’t believe I’m watching this. What hope do we have when the Transport Secretary doesn’t know the details of the reduced timetable he signed off?” Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said Mr Shapps does not “have the first idea how bad the disruption he signed-off on is”, branding him “clueless”.
On Thursday, Mr Burnham said he will urge the new prime minister to remove Avanti West Coast’s contract to operate services if it does not produce a “credible plan” to restore its timetable. Avanti West Coast had a cancellations score of 16.2 per cent between June 26 and July 23 - the highest in any recorded period for the West Coast franchise in records dating back to 2014.
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