Staff at Avanti West Coast have no confidence the under-fire train operator can achieve promised improvements to its services this month, according to a union.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union marked the third anniversary of Avanti taking over the running of services on the West Coast mainline from Virgin Trains by surveying 1,000 of its members at the company. The union said its members condemned the company in 'overwhelming numbers' - and made it clear they have no confidence management can turn things around in December.
The results of the survey come ahead of the introduction of a new national timetable on Sunday - which should see a shake-up in services across Greater Manchester and the north.
Avanti announced in August it was cutting the number of trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly from one every 20 minutes to one an hour 'until further notice', saying it had acted in the wake of industrial action 'to ensure a reliable service is delivered so customers can travel with greater certainty'.
Avanti said it would use the national timetable changes in December - due to come into force on Sunday - to relaunch a 'stable and deliverable' three trains an hour service that wasn't reliant on rest day working or overtime, saying it now had more drivers 'in the business than ever before'.
In late September, Avanti began to run an additional 10 daily trains between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and an extra six on Wednesdays. Amid calls for it to be stripped of its franchise, the company has been given until April 1 next year to improve its services.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "This survey shows that Avanti have misled Parliament about what’s happened on their services and suggests there’s little hope that they can turn things around in the future.
"The truth is that the company has mismanaged the franchise from day one, trying to bully staff into running services on a completely under-resourced workforce and it’s now locked in a death spiral.
"Avanti’s management is toxic to staff who have no trust and confidence in the company. The Government's response so far has been utterly hopeless, giving the company an extension and, it appears, colluding in fabricating a myth that these events are beyond Avanti’s control in order to save the company’s profits.
"Avanti should be stripped of the franchise now and the West Coast Mainline should join the East Coast Mainline in the public sector, which has run it effectively now for years."
An Avanti West Coast spokesman said: “Over the last few months, our sole focus has been to do everything we can to return to a more resilient operation which delivers more services for our customers and communities.
"We have been working closely with our people, and consulting with their union representatives, to deliver a new timetable which is based on a robust and sustainable roster for our people without reliance on overtime.
"This provides a better working pattern for staff and our customers will benefit from more trains and greater connectivity."
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