Avanti West Coast to be nationalised on 7 March as Labour ends franchise

Avanti West Coast has recorded some of the poorest punctuality figures in the country, with 7.1% of its trains cancelled between April and June this year. The operator's contract was due to end on 7 March 2027, and on Sunday the government confirmed that the line will enter public ownership on that date.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who is expected to formally announce the decision in her speech to the Labour conference on Tuesday, said: "For years, we've heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough."

“For years, we've heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough.”

: Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary

Prime Minister Andy Burnham echoed that message in a social media post, writing that "for years, people have been expected to put up with Avanti's cancellations, delays, overcrowding, and a service that has failed them time and time again".

Avanti West Coast runs key intercity routes between London Euston and Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, north-west England, north Wales, and into Scotland as far as Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Guardian reported that the operator had the highest proportion of cancellations across the network in the April to June period.

The company is a joint venture between FirstGroup, which owns 70%, and Italian state operator Trenitalia, which holds the remaining 30%. Its finances have been heavily influenced by the Department for Transport since March 2020, when Covid-era contracts were introduced, and all services operated under those contracts are being transferred to public ownership.

Andy Mellors, Avanti West Coast's managing director, said he was "proud of what we've achieved over the last six years", citing the refurbishment of the Pendolino fleet, the introduction of new Evero trains, and running "more services than ever before". He added: "Over the coming months, we'll work closely with the government to ensure a seamless transition into public ownership while remaining focused on delivering for our customers and communities."

In May, Avanti West Coast said it would cut about one in seven services on its busiest routes during the summer, removing 38 weekday trains from its timetable between London Euston and Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The company said the reduction was in response to a government request to lower spending and would cause minimal disruption to passengers.

The nationalisation is part of a wider programme under which Great Western Railway will come into public ownership in December, and East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry are scheduled to follow by autumn 2027. Chiltern Railways became the sixth operator to be nationalised under Labour earlier this month.

Transport for the North had previously urged the government to strip Avanti of its contract "at the earliest possible opportunity", citing long-running performance problems. The operator has also faced criticism over high fares, with peak-time return tickets from Manchester to London reported to cost as much as £300.