Avanti to cut services on some of UK’s busiest intercity routes before Christmas

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Avanti West Coast is cutting the number of trains running on some of the UK’s busiest intercity lines in the run-up to Christmas, blaming new staff shortages.

The decision comes one month after ministers awarded the company that operates trains from London to Scotland a long-term contract in the wake of improved services following sweeping disruption last year because of a driver shortage.

Avanti plans to cut some services on its routes from London to Manchester, Birmingham and North Wales from December 9, including cutting trains between London and Manchester by a third on Saturdays, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The latest disruption to hit the UK rail network comes in the same week that TransPennine Express, which connects northern cities and is currently being operated by the government due to performance failures, announced it is also cutting its December timetable to improve reliability. 

The RMT union on Thursday also warned of another six months of strike action across the rail network, after its members voted to continue their long campaign of industrial action. 

Avanti, a joint venture between UK-listed First Group and Italian state-owned Trenitalia, runs trains on some of the country’s most prominent intercity routes connecting London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

In a statement on Friday it said it would remove “a small number” of trains from the timetable to enable it to improve reliability and “minimise unplanned, short-notice cancellations”.

“This is a temporary measure and we’re sorry for any inconvenience to our customers,” it added.

Avanti expects staffing shortages over December, in part because of annual leave but also due to the long-running campaign of strikes that has hit the rail network.

The operator was plunged into crisis in August 2022 after it was forced to slash services and implement an emergency timetable when train drivers refused to work overtime, amid a wider breakdown in relations between unions and the rail industry. 

Services have steadily improved since then, and in September the government awarded it a long-term contract “following significant improvements across reliability, punctuality and customer satisfaction”. The contract is for an initial three years, and can be extended for as long as nine. 

Avanti did not give details of the timetable changes, which will not be as disruptive as last year’s.

But industry stakeholders have been told that, among the changes, the company will reduce services between London and Manchester from three an hour to two on Saturdays in December, with further reductions on December 23.

Some services between London and Manchester will also be cut between December 11 and 15, as well as on December, 18 and 21 to 22.

No tickets have yet been sold for the trains that will no longer run, and the company has cut services that are expected to have lower demand.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Avanti should have been “left on probation” instead of having its contract renewed a month ago. 

“This disappointing news only strengthens my view,” he said, adding that it amounted to “one kick in the teeth after another”. He said he would be watching the situation carefully and “seeking cast-iron assurances that these temporary changes will not continue into the new year”.

On Wednesday TransPennine Express, which connects northern cities including Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, also announced that it would be operating a “slightly reduced” timetable from December in order to stabilise services after a period of particular unreliability. 

The operator, previously run by First Group, was taken into government control via the Operator of Last Resort in May as a result of ongoing performance failures. 

TPE said it aimed to “restore these services” by December next year “at the latest”.