Avanti: North Wales Tory MPs want firm to lose rail franchise

North Wales' Conservative MPs have called for Avanti West Coast to lose its rail franchise.

The troubled rail operator has cut back trains to Holyhead on Anglesey to one each way daily.

The five politicians said north Wales services had been "reduced to the status of a branch line" and they had no confidence that the company could make a permanent improvement.

Avanti apologised for the "frustration and inconvenience".

Avanti West Coast reduced services by a third on 14 August and suspended ticket sales due to "severe staff shortages".

It is promising to significantly increase services from mid-December. As well as the trains to London, it is running shuttles between Holyhead and Crewe.

The franchise is due to expire on 16 October.

'Lamentable'

"We are sure that you will be aware of the deplorable performance of Avanti across the franchise over many months," the MPs said in a letter to UK Rail Minister Kevin Foster.

"Nowhere has its performance been more lamentable than in north Wales".

The letter was written by James Davies, who represents Vale of Clwyd, Simon Baynes of Clwyd South, Virginia Crosbie of Ynys Môn, David Jones of Clwyd West and Robin Millar from Aberconwy.

"Travellers across the north Wales mainline are obliged to change trains at least once, and frequently twice.

"In short, the mainline has now been reduced to the status of a branch line, to the enormous inconvenience of north Wales passengers."

It added: "You will of course be aware that Avanti has pursued a business model of relying heavily on drivers to undertake overtime work as a matter of course.

"The short-sightedness of such a policy is manifest in the dreadful service that passengers are now having to endure, despite the best efforts of Avanti train staff, who are undoubtedly as dispirited by the company's performance as everyone else."

'Robust plan'

A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: "We know we're not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience.

"Our customers and communities in north Wales and Chester deserve a dependable train service, so we're currently working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way.

"Resolving this situation requires a robust plan that will allow us to gradually increase services without being reliant on traincrew overtime, which has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "People deserve certainty and confidence that their train will run on time, and while the change of schedule was unavoidable, it should minimise the fallout for passengers.

"The problems facing Avanti are a prime example of why we need to modernise our railways, so passengers benefit from reliable timetables that don't rely on the goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime in the first place."

It added that the UK government "will consider all options when Avanti West Coast's contract expires".