Cutting off the North: Are Avanti cutting off London business for the North?

It has been a turbulent few months for the train operator Avanti but that is nothing compared to the anguish inflicted on their passengers. The service has been suffering from late or cancelled trains, double booked seats and overcrowding. To top that off, Avanti then suspended ticket sales and cut its time table from Manchester to London by a third. Fortunately for some this decision has since been partially reversed as Avanti have announced they will be running additional services on its key routes. However, full service will not resume until at least December 2022. So far this appalling failure has seen the departure of its Managing Director, Phil Whittingham and may even see the end of Avanti being the West Coast operator. Their contract is up for renewal in October and there are certainly no guarantees they will be given another chance. But the impact of such poor service reaches far further than Avanti and their organisational performance. Although on this point, they have already been awarded a £4 million bonus from the government for ‘operational performance’.

The poor handling of the West Coast train services have left many in Manchester and the surrounding areas largely frustrated at not just the inconvenienced caused, but the real economic damage it is causing to the region. How are the decision makers in London committed to a program of levelling up the North with the South when they cannot easily get there? These are questions being posed by ministers in the House of Commons and the best answer may come on October 16th when the West Coast train operator for the next 10 years is announced.