Avanti West Coast, the operator of the train service from Manchester to London, will be nationalised next year. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said 'enough was enough', and that the service will come into public ownership when the firm's contract expires in March next year.
Government plan for improvement
The Government said that nationalisation will be supported by a plan to improve infrastructure, reduce delays and improve passenger experience. It comes after years of cancellations and delays on the key route from Manchester to the capital.
Andy Burnham, in his former role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, was heavily critical of the operator. In 2022 he said: “Avanti West Coast has failed to deliver on their commitment to explain how they will restore services between Manchester and London and failed to bring the stability to the timetable which they promised. Every day that this continues is a day of damage to the Greater Manchester economy and it cannot be allowed to continue.”
Minister's statement
Transport secretary Ms Alexander said: “For years, we’ve heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough. That is why we will bring Avanti into public ownership at the earliest opportunity, in March next year. This Labour Government is committed to putting essential services back in public hands, connecting people to opportunity and delivering growth in every postcode and this move reflects that commitment. We will also introduce a comprehensive improvement plan, focused on delivering for passengers, not shareholders.”
Avanti West Coast’s contract is due to come to an end on March 7. The operator also faced criticism last year from Liberal Democrat Lord Goddard of Stockport, who criticised the firm for what he described as 'incompetent management'. It had emerged how the mainline rail firm could not be stripped of its contract despite its 'lamentable' performance because of the terms agreed by the previous Tory government.
Background of renationalisation push
Renationalising the rail network has long been an ambition of Burnham's. When he stood for the Labour Party leadership in 2015, a contest he lost to Jeremy Corbyn, he pledged to renationalise Britain's railways 'line by line'. As Mayor of Greater Manchester, the region became the first place in the country to re-take control of its buses after nearly 40 years of deregulation.
