We have been working hard over the last quarter to address the fundamental issues driving poor performance, alongside continuing to invest in a better service. 

Many of the issues we have faced recently have been felt across the industry, including the availability of drivers, industrial action and infrastructure failures. We have been doing everything we can to address them, including taking action to improve rosters, negotiating changes to historical leave arrangements, and undertaking unprecedented levels of recruitment and training. We are working with Network Rail on joint performance improvement plans. We welcome the national pay settlement with drivers and the positive impact this is bringing to our customers. Issues where underlying terms and conditions impact consistent day-to-day delivery remain and support from government will be required if these are to be addressed. 

There’s still much more to do and in this update you can read more about how we are making significant improvements to our performance, launching our most sustainable and customer friendly trains yet, and leading the way in delivering lasting social change through the equivalent of £345 million in social value initiatives during the past year.

I hope you find this an interesting and informative read. We want to hear from you if you have any feedback or questions. Please get in touch with your Regional Growth Manager (details at the bottom of our newsletter) if you have any questions or feedback. 

Andy Mellors

Managing Director at Avanti West Coast