Avanti West Coast is the first rail firm facing the threat of nationalisation under Labour’s new transport laws, amid a chorus of complaints over its service to passengers.
i understands that the Department for Transport is “exploring options and seeking advice” on Avanti due to deep misgivings over the rail firm’s performance on the West Coast Main Line in recent years.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh “summoned” Andy Mellors, the managing director of the misfiring rail operator, on Tuesday to warn him over the disruption being faced by passengers.
She insisted that the Government “won’t tolerate the unacceptable levels of service being provided”.
Ministers set out their plans to bring the railways back under government control in the King’s Speech on Wednesday. Legislation will including a Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, which will be tabled on Thursday.
Under the bill, rail services will be brought back under public ownership when existing contracts expire, or crucially, if an operator fails to meet its commitments – in which case there will be no need to pay compensation to the rail firm.
The Government said that the first contracts will be brought into public ownership as soon as possible once the legislation is in place.
The previous Conservative administration was criticised for giving Avanti a new long-term contract in 2023 despite passenger fury over the performance of the rail line, which connects London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. The contract is not due to expire until 2029.
Speaking before the election, Ms Haigh said Avanti was providing a “woeful” service to passengers.
“Our commitment is to bring in those contracts as they expire or when they are breached, and I anticipate I will be seeking advice early on whether Avanti has been in breach of its contract,” she told reporters before entering government.”
As i revealed in March, the train operator was found to be cancelling around 26 trains a day, leaving passengers stranded or forced to use overcrowded services on a daily basis.
Transport leaders in the North have already made clear they believe Avanti’s performance is not good enough and they want to see it stripped of the franchise.
Campaign group WeOwnIt, which has lobbied for public services including rail to nationalised, also backed those calls.
Johnbosco Nwogbo, its lead campaigner for rail, told i: “The threshold has already been reached. The Avanti contract should not have been renewed to begin with.
“The Secretary of State Lou Haigh has been quite critical and the Department for Transport should take the next step.
“Avanti’s performance has not improved, they were having problems with drivers not working overtime, that has been resolved and the line is still among the worst in the country.”
Mr Nwogbo said the previous government had been reluctant to bring operators into public ownership but Labour’s position is the opposite. “I think Lou Haigh will move on Avanti quickly,” he added.
Rail Partners, which represents rail operators, criticised the decision to push on with the nationalisation plans.
Itschief executive Andy Bagnall said: “To change the railway for the better, we must correctly understand the causes of the current challenges to get the right solutions – and full nationalisation is a political not a practical solution, which will increase costs over time.”
Avanti has been approached for comment. In response to Tuesday summoning by the DfT, a spokesperson said: “We met the Secretary of State alongside our colleagues at Network Rail to discuss the current challenges on the network. During the meeting, we outlined the issues which are unique to us as well as those affecting the industry a whole.
“It was a constructive session, and we look forward to holding more discussions on how we make further improvements to the railways in the coming months.”
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