Mayors’ anger as Avanti slashes West Coast services from Euston
A dispute means staff are refusing to work rest days, so the operator can only guarantee four services an hour to the North.
NEWS that Avanti West Coast was cutting the number of services from Euston from seven an hour to four from August 14 was met with anger by the mayors of Manchester and London, Andy Burnham and Sadiq Kahn.
In the week leading up to the service reduction, due to a significant reduction in staff availability, Avanti cancelled
299 services in spite of a recent timetable change. The operator said the cancellations equate to about 20% of scheduled services.
The action stems from staff not making themselves available for overtime or rest day working through the ongoing industrial relations dispute. It has left Holyhead, Shrewsbury and Wrexham with no or limited through services to or from London.
Avanti also temporarily suspended ticket sales pending the new timetable appearing in retail systems. This action has frustrated many passengers wanting to book and take advantage of advance fares.
In a statement, Avanti said:
“As a result of the majority of drivers declaring themselves unavailable for overtime, our customers have faced multiple short-notice cancellations on our network, which has had a severe impact on their plans.
“The reduced timetable is being introduced to ensure a reliable service is delivered so our passengers can travel with greater certainty.
“This decision was not taken lightly and we are sorry for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this will cause.”
The services Avanti is confident of operating are one train per hour to Manchester via Stokeon-Trent, Glasgow, Liverpool, and Wolverhampton (with one train every two hours continuing to Edinburgh and one train every two hours to Blackpool or Preston). There are also shuttles between Crewe and Holyhead and limited connectivity to Shrewsbury and Wrexham
Mayors Burnham and Kahn wrote to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, angry that the cuts occurred without notice or consultation. The letter said: “Our cities rely heavily on the
West Coast Main Line and this unilateral withdrawal of services, on the basis of what appears to be a complete failure of Avanti’s senior management to manage rostering and rest day working, is frankly a national outrage.”
Mr Burnham also added that blame is trying to be shifted from Avanti management for what is a foreseeable and avoidable situation. Drivers union ASLEF has accused Avanti of not employing enough drivers, but the operator has said that more than 250 new drivers were being recruited and trained, although that alone will not end the immediate crisis.