Agenda item

To consider the referral of the Rail North Committee to discuss and agree what actions are appropriate to secure improved performance.

Lead: Steve Montgomery (First) andDarren Oldham

4.1          The Chair welcomed Mr Steve Montgomery to the meeting and thanked him for his attendance. In introducing the item, he highlighted the deep concerns of Board Members on the performance of services on the West Coast Mainline.

4.2          Mr Montgomery stated that Avanti West Coast has experienced a number of issues and apologised for the inconvenience caused to customers and stakeholders. He recognised that service levels have fallen below the levels that customers might reasonably expect.

4.3          He explained that this arises from a number of complex issues. He highlighted that since October 2023 the number of Avanti caused cancellations has grown and was approximately 7% in the last period. He attributed this to national disputes, as well as the removal of rest day working agreement at Avanti which has impacted on driver training and the business. This in turn has impacted on delivery of services on certain days of the week, with Saturdays proving a particularly difficult day.

4.4          In order to address the issues Avanti has been working with the Trade Unions and extra resources have been provided from First Group, but they have had difficulty with the lack of flexibility. He explained that they are working closely with ASLEF to establish more cooperation and have now secured a new rest day working agreement.

4.5          He informed Board that Avanti is now starting to take delivery of a new fleet of trains and has begun to train drivers, which has caused some additional pressures. The rest day working agreement will allow faster training leading to the introduction of these trains in the summer.

4.6          He stated he will seek to improve communications with the North and wants to meet regularly with Northern leaders.

4.7          Mr Andy Mellors provided an update on the second hourly service to Liverpool. He stated that the new trains will help enable this to be delivered but noted that this would only happen once there is the operational resilience to do so.

4.8          Cllr Gittins expressed her frustration that the Cheshire and Warrington areas are not seeing improvements to services, which has been the case for the last 18 months. She commented that she is unable to see how things will improve in the short and medium term and expressed concern at the impact that an additional service to Liverpool will have on the North Wales line. 

4.9          Mr Montgomery apologised for the disruption in services along the North Wales main line to/from Chester. He explained that the restoration of the rest day working agreement and training of three new drivers in the Holyhead area will help make services in the area more reliable at the beginning of April.

4.10       Ms Clare Hayward stated her belief that Avanti has lost the trust and confidence of the business community which is impacting on the ability of businesses to deliver for their customers. She also observed that from her experience of travelling extensively on Avanti there is a lack of trust amongst Avanti’s employees towards the company. She expressed concern about the level of resilience in the company’s training and workforce planning system and is not confident that they can return to a level of service with the necessary level of trust and culture within the business. She believes that there is much work to do and is not convinced that Avanti is able to deliver what is required.

4.11       Mr Montgomery admitted that Avanti has much to do but observed that the industrial relations issue is an industry wide problem, and that it is difficult for both staff and management. He stated that they know how many people they have and what the plan to move forward needs to look like. He recognised that the only way Avanti can give confidence is by delivering services daily. He stated that the RMT negotiations are almost complete, and more work is required with ASLEF.

4.12       Mayor Brabin commented that the Avanti situation echoes what happened with TPE and stated that whatever happens the owning group (which is the common factor) never takes responsibility. She highlighted the impact that Avanti’s poor service is having on local services such as TPE services between Leeds and Manchester, which are becoming overcrowded as a result as customers avoid using Avanti. She requested information about the discussions that are taking place with TPE and LNER about the impact this is having on their capacity and budgets.

4.13       In response Mr Montgomery stated that there is industry co-operation when there is disruption.

4.14       Mayor Rotheram commented that the impact of poor services on areas and their economies is the main issue and that train operating companies cannot operate in isolation. He added that the only area in the country that has not had industrial relation problems is Merseyrail because he had instructed the company to find a settlement through meaningful negotiations.

4.15       He continued by stating that the deterioration in Avanti services has impacted on the area’s economy because passengers will not travel if they do not have confidence in their journeys. He emphasised that improved services must be delivered, to specified deadlines, in order to reassure the public.

4.16       Cllr Rollo expressed frustration that Cumbrian residents find that all too often Avanti terminates services at Preston rather than continue northwards. Experience shows that in such circumstances there is often no support for customers looking to continue further; she sought reassurance that operational resilience extends further than getting services from London just to Preston.

4.17       On paragraph 5.8 of the report relating to the second service to Liverpool operating in diesel mode between Crewe to Liverpool, Cllr Corcoran asked what is being done to address restore the power supply issues between Crewe and Liverpool, which trains will be used to provide the second Liverpool service and where they will originate from. Additionally, he sought reassurance that there will be no restrictions on the Crewe to Chester route.

4.18       In response to Members’ questions and comments, Mr Montgomery addressed a number of issues. Regarding the second Liverpool service he stated he is aware of the impact on the economy of current poor performance and believes that services will improve in the area.  He recognised the importance of rectifying the issues with the current hourly service before considering a second train. He said the new trains to be used are “bi modes” (a mix of diesel and electric) with the diesel element used in areas where the lines are not electrified/power supply is limited.

4.19       Addressing the issue of services running North of Preston, he stated that the reliability issues being experienced are a result of historical leave issues and this has impacted on the number of services running from Preston to Scotland.

4.20       Mayor Burnham highlighted the seriousness of the situation and the huge damage that the poor performance on the West Coast Main Line has done to the Greater Manchester economy over the last two years, leading to low levels of trust in the company. He presented a number of pieces of data on service reliability and cancellations which illustrated the extent of the poor performance. Mr Montgomery accepted that the data illustrated the scale of the problem.

4.21       Mayor Burnham concluded that he was not reassured with the answers provided by Mr Montgomery during the debate and in particular he did not believe the company was accepting responsibility for the situation as it should.

4.22       The Chair thanked Mr Montgomery and his team for attending and highlighted the deep concerns that Members of the Board had expressed about the service that is being provided and stressed the need for the improvements outlined to come to fruition. He emphasised the importance of the Mayors and other political leaders as voices for their areas and their expression of what their electorate, passengers and businesses are feeling about Avanti’s performance.

4.23       Cllr Gittins moved that Board adopt the second recommendation set out in the report at paragraph 7.1. This was seconded by Cllr Swarbrick.

4.24       Board voted on the proposal which was unanimously passed.

 

Resolved:

That Board submits Statutory Advice to the Secretary of State for Transport that Avanti West Coast’s contract should be terminated at the earliest possible opportunity (with the Operator of Last Resort taking on responsibility in the short term for the delivery of long-distance services on the West Coast Main Line).