Ministers accused of ‘rewarding abject failure’ as Avanti and CrossCountry were given fresh taxpayer-backed deals despite coming bottom for punctuality over the summer
The Government has handed two of Britain’s least reliable train firms new contracts. Avanti and CrossCountry were given fresh taxpayer-backed deals despite coming bottom for punctuality over the summer.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said ministers were “rewarding abject failure and exposing how corrupt the current system is.” Avanti, a joint venture between First Group and Italy’s state-owned Trenitalia, has been awarded a new nine-year contract to continue running the busy West Coast mainline service.
Yet it became a byword for failure in 2022 after reducing its normal timetable and running a fraction of trains on the line linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. Figures from the Office of Rail and Road showed just 46.1% of Avanti West Coast’s services arrived on time between April and June this year, when the national average was more than 70%.
Avanti will earn £5.1million a year under a fixed management fee structure, but up to £15.8million more if it meets targets. The Department for Transport claimed Avanti’s performance had improved. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Now Avanti are back on track, providing long-term certainty for both the operator and passengers will best ensure that improvements continue.”