UK: The government will not terminate Avanti West Coast’s operating contract, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has told the House of Commons.
At Transport Questions on March 21, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan asked ‘a simple question to the Minister today, will he strip Avanti of its contract: Yes or no?’
Merriman replied ’No, Mr Speaker, we will not’.
Merriman said the West Coast Main Line has ’issues which will remain regardless of who the operator is, and it is essential to get underneath the bonnet, look at the issues and fix those rather than what’s on the side of the car’.
He said ’taking one four-week period from Christmas, 65% of the delays were not down to the operator, they were down to Network Rail. That involves weather related issues, but sadly trespass and suicide, which we need to minimise’. He also said there are restrictive contracts between the operator and unions which he ’would like to see change’.
Commenting afterwards, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh said ’with Labour, rail franchises will be brought back into public ownership as contracts expire or are broken, and passengers will always come first’.
The question came the day after the Transport for the North board passed a motion to write to the Secretary of State with statutory advice asking for the Avanti West Coast contract to be terminated ‘at the earliest possible opportunity’. The Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort should take on responsibility for operations in the short term, TfN recommended.
‘The performance on the West Coast Main Line by Avanti has been so poor, for so long that action now must be taken’, said TfN Chair Lord Patrick McLoughlin. ‘The travelling public deserve a service they can rely on. But Avanti has fallen far too short of expectations for far too long now.’
