A rail regulator has told train operator Avanti West Coast, which runs services between Manchester and London, to improve its timetable release for passengers after a recent 'deterioration', it emerged today.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said for several weekends in January, passengers have only been able to book tickets at a few days' notice. It added Avanti's plans for February paint a better picture for weekday travel, but 'still fall short of industry norms and your customers' needs for weekend journeys'.
Passengers attempting to access timetable information and book tickets have 'faced frustrating and enduring problems in recent months', the regulator went on, saying the position in terms of Avanti 'has deteriorated in 2023'.
As a result, the ORR has written to Avanti calling for significant improvements to its recovery plan for releasing timetables to passengers ahead of travel.
In a statement today, Tuesday, the regulator said: "Despite Avanti initially making reasonable progress against their September 2022 plan and increasing notice for passengers to book travel in the lead up to Christmas, the position has deteriorated in 2023. For weekends in January, passengers have only been able to book tickets at a few days’ notice. Avanti's current plans for February show a better picture for weekday travel, but still fall short of passengers’ needs for weekend journeys.
"Under Avanti's passenger information licence requirement, ORR has asked Avanti to submit an improved recovery plan for timetable production by 2 February 2023."
Stephanie Tobyn, Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform at the ORR, said: "Passengers are rightly frustrated that this situation has deteriorated so quickly after a steady start to the recovery plan late last year. By 2 February we expect Avanti to identify what has gone wrong and set out how it intends to get back to releasing timetables in normal industry timescales so that passengers can plan and book journeys with greater confidence.
"Failure to produce an acceptable plan or to deliver improvements may lead to more formal measures."
In her letter to Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of First Rail, Ms Tobyn said: "In August 2022, Avanti introduced a reduced timetable at very short notice. One consequence was that passengers were offered very short booking horizons, often only a matter of days. You agreed that this position was unacceptable.
"We required you to provide a recovery plan in August and, after rejecting your initial proposals, accepted the plan submitted on 30 September.
"Avanti made reasonable progress against this plan and booking horizons had improved in the period leading up the Christmas. However, the position has deteriorated significantly in 2023. I remain unclear when you expect to be able to return to releasing timetables in line with industry norms.
As well as the significant impact on passengers’ ability to plan and book their journeys, if Avanti is not able to work to the same timelines as the wider industry you are increasing the risk that you will not secure the timetable that you bid for. This in turn can lead to increased journey times for passengers, a need for you to re-plan your services at pace, and additional demands on Network Rail."
Ms Tobyn acknowledged industrial action and engineering works, but claimed Avanti's 'delivery of published timetables remains worse than that of other operators who are exposed to very similar challenges'.
"We expect you to anticipate better these risks and to be able to demonstrate that you are taking all reasonable steps to deliver timetables to passengers," she added.
"We will monitor your delivery of the improved plan and we expect you to consider how to communicate transparently with passengers about your progress. You should note that failure to produce an acceptable plan or to deliver it may lead us to consider more formal measures under your licence."
Avanti, which runs trains between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston, came under fire last August after cutting services. Trains, however, are now back to three per hour between the stations.
The train operating company has been given until April 1 to improve its services following the reduction of its trains in the summer, partly due to sharp decline in the number of drivers voluntarily working on rest days for extra pay.
Weekday tickets have also been released far later than the 12-week booking window normally used by operators.
Avanti West Coast said the delay has been caused by the requirement to produce bespoke timetables – which happens in partnership with Network Rail – during engineering work. Tickets can only be made available for sale once timetables are confirmed.
An Avanti West Coast spokesman said: “Unfortunately, some tickets for Saturdays and Sundays have only been available at short notice due to having to write unprecedented numbers of bespoke timetables to accommodate industrial action and engineering work which has stretched industry train planning resources.
"We know this causes huge uncertainty and inconvenience for passengers, and we’re sorry for that. We’re working with our colleagues at Network Rail to get tickets on sale as soon as possible and are encouraging passengers to sign up for ticket alerts.
"We’re also working closely with the ORR and keeping them informed. Weekend tickets are now on sale up to mid-February, and by mid-March we’ll be selling weekend tickets six weeks out."
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