A transport minister has labelled the performance of a mainline rail firm "lamentable" but stated that the company cannot be stripped of its contract due to the terms set by the previous Conservative government. Labour's frontbencher Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill informed Parliament about his upcoming meeting with the boss of Avanti West Coast on Friday to discuss the operator’s subpar service levels, which he said have "not been good enough".
However, after reviewing the three-year agreement granted to the firm in 2023 under the Tories, he noted that Avanti "has not yet failed to meet the performance target standards that the previous government set it". His remarks followed a wave of criticism directed at Avanti during a debate in the House of Lords, where the company's "incompetent management" was condemned.
Avanti runs long-distance passenger services between London, Birmingham, North Wales, the North West and Scotland via the West Coast Main Line.
The latest debate comes after important government legislation aimed at renationalising rail passenger services became law at the end of last year, allowing the state to assume control from private entities as franchises end or are breached—thus avoiding early termination fees for the Government. In response to calls at Westminster to "end this misery" for beleaguered Avanti passengers facing delays, cancellations, and overcrowding, Lord Hendy told peers: "My postbag, email and every other means of communication is full of criticism of Avanti West Coast."
"It was given a contract for three years in October 2023. I assure members that as hard as we look at the contract, the company has not yet failed to meet the performance target standards that the previous government set it."
Liberal Democrat Lord Goddard of Stockport expressed his sympathy for the staff, saying: "I feel for the staff, who try to give us a good service every day on the up and down journey, but the management is lamentable.
"If you gave Avanti a local pub in London with a 24-hour licence, free beer and free food, it would still not make a profit. It is astonishing. I am lost for words."
He added: "This is nothing to do with the weather, strikes or lines. This is incompetent management."
Meanwhile, Tory frontbencher the Earl of Effingham acknowledged that the last Tory government had been "working hard to solve the Avanti issue". However, Lord Hendy said: "The contract that these people have been given does not allow the withdrawal of the franchise for performance that many people in this House think is lamentable."
Last November, Avanti launched its new Class 807 Evero train on the Liverpool-London route. The company says it has invested £350m its new Evero fleet and says the trains will work alongside its existing Pendolino trains "which have recently undergone the largest ever fleet upgrade in the Ƶ thanks to a £117m investment".
Announcing the "significant milestone" Evero launch, Avanti West Coast managing director Andy Mellors said: “The challenge we have is to now build on this excitement, which coupled with our recent upturn in performance and plans to run more services, will improve connectivity to the regions we serve and encourage more people to opt for rail.”
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