Greater Manchester MPs have lined up in unison to slam under-fire Avanti West Coast - with one claiming the rail operator has 'broken its deed and its word' as they collectively called on the Government to strip the company of its contract.
Eight of our MPs spoke out in an impassioned Commons debate, during which transport minister Trudy Harrison accepted one train an hour from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly was 'completely unacceptable'.
The Department for Transport was also urged to 'come up with a proper plan to end this chaos so that the route is properly up and running again'. "Rail passengers deserve much better," added Stockport's Labour MP Navendu Mishra, who blamed the situation on Avanti's management as he criticised the company's business 'model' which he said depends on drivers agreeing to work their rest days for extra pay.
Graham Stringer, meanwhile, the MP for Blackley and Broughton, called Avanti a 'dreadful company' that 'should not continue with this franchise', going on to claim at the debate on Wednesday that passengers have been dropped off at 'unpersoned stations in an unsafe position'.
"The minister talks about partnership with Avanti," he said.
"May I suggest to her that, if she looks at it objectively, that partnership is not working, and the best thing she could do is plan to get out of it. She should sack Avanti, which is not only not running services to Manchester - it has cut those services by two third - but, when it eventually gets passengers on to its trains, drops them off at unpersoned stations in an unsafe position.
"This is not just about running services: Avanti is a dreadful company, and should not continue with this franchise."
Afzal Khan, Labour's Gorton MP, said ticket costs 'keep rising' as train services are reduced. He spoke of some of his constituents who have been forced to decline job offers or visit family members because of the 'poor service'.
"Does the minister agree that that is unacceptable?," asked Mr Khan. "If so, why are the Government considering renewing Avanti West Coast’s contract in October?"
The current west coast franchise agreement is due to expire on October 16.
Avanti announced earlier this month that 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 cut services in the wake of industrial action 'to ensure a reliable service is delivered so customers can travel with greater certainty'.
The move has sparked fierce criticism from the travelling public and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who highlighted 'chaos' on services, passengers finding seats double booked and a slow release of online tickets.
Ms Harrison, speaking at the debate, said as with all contract awards, the Government would act in accordance with the Railways Act 1993 franchising policy statement, but said a decision over the renewal of Avanti's contract has yet to be taken by the new Secretary of State for Transport, Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
"Given the market and the commercially sensitive nature of the outcome, further information cannot be provided at this time," she told MPs.
Avanti, they heard, has used a degree of rest-day working to operate its timetable. Drivers have traditionally volunteered to work additional shifts over and above their contracted hours in what Ms Harrison called an 'industry arrangement' that 'has been in place for many years, to the benefit of the drivers, the operators and indeed the passengers'.
She said Avanti has a rest-day working arrangement that remains in place with the ASLEF union, which represents about 95 per cent of the drivers.
But she said on July 30, Avanti experienced an 'unprecedented, immediate and near total cessation of drivers volunteering to work passenger trains on their rest days'. "This left Avanti unable to resource its timetable and, in the immediate term, resulted in significant short-notice cancellations," Ms Harrison went on. "Avanti has reduced its timetable in response to the withdrawal of rest-day working. Reducing the timetable provided better certainty and reliability for passengers as it reduced the number of short-notice cancellations."
The company itself has also blamed Covid for a 'backlog of trained drivers'. Increasing services between Manchester and London 'remains an absolute priority' for the Government, the minister said.
Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South, said after 'weeks of uncertainty' and 'passengers being unable to book at weekends' a young, wheelchair-bound constituent was now being forced to travel to London by coach and car to collect an award she had been nominated for.
"There will be many more people in that situation who need accessible transport," said Ms Keeley. "Will she and her Secretary of State now act, and recognise that Avanti has failed in the provision of rail services and that its contract should not be renewed?"
In response, Ms Harrison said: "Whether we call this an unofficial strike action or not, a system whereby drivers were willing to work their rest days for extra pay has worked for nigh on 20 years, and with almost immediate effect one train company, Avanti, has not been able to persuade its drivers to work their rest days, resulting in about 40 out of 50 drivers who usually work their rest days not being willing to work more than 35 hours. I think I am setting out the challenge very clearly.
"Whether the franchise is state owned or privately owned, the challenge remains. These trains need to be driven, safely, by people who are trained. It takes two years to train a train driver. That is the challenge."
Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd called on Avanti to 'get round the negotiating table' with the union ASLEF and others, saying a 'bit of industrial peace would move the railways forward'.
Stretford and Urmston's Kate Green, meanwhile, called Avanti's service 'a disgrace'.
"Does the Minister understand that there is an urgent need for a solution - not a solution in two years’ time - and that it would be quite unconscionable for this failing company to be re-awarded the franchise in October?," she asked. "May I just say that it is for the Government to grasp the urgency of this situation. If Avanti and no other operator can run this service, may I gently point out that the east coast main line, which was taken into public ownership, runs more efficiently and reliably, and the fares are cheaper."
Oldham East and Saddleworth's Debbie Abrahams said it was 'regrettable' the minister blamed workers as she recounted a lawyer constituent's story of only getting to London last week via Leeds, which the MP called 'an absolute disgrace'.
"She said that that showed the Government's disregard for the north," said Ms Abrahams.
Stockport MP Mr Mishra asked whether the former Transport Minister, Grant Shapps, approved the decision to cut Avanti's timetable and asked who was 'incurring the revenue loss following the cuts' "The train operator or the tax-payer," he asked. No specific answer was given.
Andrew Gwynne MP said 'problems' at Avanti didn't begin with the timetable change', saying the contract has been 'a disaster for the communities on the west coast main line'.
The member for Denton and Reddish said: "It is not acceptable that we have just one train an hour from Greater Manchester to London; that we cannot book in advance; and that the cost of tickets is far more expensive than the equivalent on the east coast main line. Avanti has failed, so in October will the minister look objectively at all the evidence and strip Avanti of this contract, because it has broken its deed and its word, which it gave to the Government when the contract was awarded?"
In response, a spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: "We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this causes our customers and communities.
"Our sole focus at the moment is working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way. Resolving this situation requires a robust plan that will allow us to gradually 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."
The company said it was working hard to publish its timetables and release tickets as soon as possible, revealing just one per cent of services on the Manchester route had been cancelled in the two weeks following the timetable change, compared to 14 per cent beforehand, although less trains are now running.
It said it was analysing passenger data to continue to run services where they are most needed - on weekdays between 6am and 8am seven trains run from Manchester to London.
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