Welcome to our latest stakeholder newsletter, a quarterly update to let you know how we’ve been working to deliver the best possible service for customers and communities, how we are performing and our plans for the coming months.
Andy Mellors
Managing Director at Avanti West Coast
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.
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*figures taken for year to September 14. **Q2, 2024. ***Passenger satisfaction score reported by Transport Focus September 2024 report.
*figures taken for year to September 14
**Q2, 2024
***Passenger satisfaction score reported by Transport Focus September 2024 report
We’re working hard to improve our services. We’ve gathered below some of the key industry metrics that show how we’re doing on punctuality, cancellations, service quality, customer satisfaction and generating growth so that you can judge this for yourself. We’ll update these every quarter in this newsletter but if you want to see more up-to-date information, you can visit our website or that of the Office of Rail and Road, which collates key stats and compares these for different train operators.
As the prime long-distance operator on the West Coast Main Line, Europe’s busiest mixed-use rail route, we see a far higher proportion of delays caused by external factors, including infrastructure. To address this, we have agreed a performance improvement plan with Network Rail to identify and remedy the key causes of delay.
In the last quarter, we’ve seen the level of cancellations fall from their peak last year as we have progressed more drivers through recruitment and training. This is welcome news for customers but, along with other train operators, we know there is more to do to achieve a consistently lower level of cancellations. We are working with Government and trade union colleagues to address this.
Our independently audited Service Quality Regime, monitors our performance against agreed standards for onboard, stations and customer service, helping us to identify key issues and drive up standards. We’re pleased to see such consistently high standards for customer service, but are working to consistently hit targets for stations and onboard.
We have seen some encouraging trends this year, with levels of growth outstripping that of other long-distance operators.
We are actively supporting the people, places and communities we serve. Our Customer and Communities Investment and Station Community funds support activities that address social needs local to our route.
We are actively supporting the people, places and communities we serve. Our Customer and Communities Investment and Station Community funds support activities which address social needs local to our route.
Feel Good Field Trips, which is run in partnership Community Rail Lancashire, was launched in April 2022 and is designed to give up to 5,000 pupils aged between 4 and 18 the chance to travel by train for hands on learning and culturally diverse days out that may have previously been inaccessible for them. So far over 100 planned excursions have taken place – from trips to Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke-on-Trent, to outdoor adventuring in the Lake District, and art workshops at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry.
We have also partnered with the Central Cheshire Buddies Scheme - a charity that supports children and young people with disabilities, as well as sibling young carers – to give disabled children and young carers the opportunity to experience the railway. Designed to give young people experiences they would not normally have access to, Train Buddies will see three of the charity’s activity groups make 24 rail journeys for days out on the West Coast Main Line by the end of March 2025.
We welcomed five-year-old Daniel Rogerson, a Pendolino superfan from Standish, Wigan, on a day out for a unique insight into the railway. When Daniel isn’t playing with his cherished railway track, he enjoys train spotting – a pastime that started when he could watch Pendolinos go by from the window of his previous family home, which backed onto the West Coast Main Line. He now spends hours with his grandad seeing the trains pass through his local station.
We are committed to making rail inclusive for all and our approach is based on working with people that have lived experience, so their insight guides our work.
We are committed to making rail inclusive for all and our approach is based on working with people that have lived experience, so their insight guides our work.
We’re collaborating on industry Passenger Assistance improvements, ensuring a hassle-free journey for customers needing help getting on and off our trains, or with additional information to support them. Since April there has been a 40% increase in the number of PA journeys thanks to work with the Rail Delivery Group to make it easier to book assistance. In total 76,633 customers have now benefitted from Passenger Assist. We are committed to making rail inclusive for all, working with people with lived experience and using their insights to guide our work.
We are taking an innovative approach, including with digital wayfinding solutions at our stations. Travel companion offers real-time support from a team of specialists with experience of disability, our website is tested by people with a range of disabilities and was the railway’s first to be awarded Shaw Trust Web Accreditation, and our Facebook Group offers a space for disabled customers to discuss accessible rail travel with ourselves and each other.
We are committed to ensuring enable more customers can use the railway safely and comfortably. At the end of September, a new accessible toilet for disabled people was opened at Lancaster station, which we funded through our Accessibility Fund and a partnership with Lancashire County Council. The Changing Places toilet was officially opened by Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster and Wyre, and is the sixth facility to be made available across our stations on the West Coast Main Line. As part of our commitment to improving the experience for all our customers and enabling independent travel for all, we have plans to install these facilities at more of our stations soon.
We’re building up our timetable in December, with more services between London and Birmingham, Liverpool and Chester, and an additional 07.00 Manchester to Euston weekday service. By 2026, we are planning to operate more services than ever on the West Coast Main Line, including a regular second train per hour to Liverpool.
We’re building up our timetable in December, with more services between London and Birmingham, Liverpool and Chester, and an additional 07.00 Manchester to Euston weekday service. By 2026, we are planning to operate more services than ever on the West Coast Main Line, including a regular second train per hour to Liverpool.
This December, we are taking an important step towards that goal by introducing additional trains to Liverpool, Chester and Birmingham, with an additional sub-two-hour peak service operating from Manchester to London Euston departing at 07:00 on weekdays calling at Stockport only with a headline end-to-end journey time of less than two hours. Full details of the additional services can be found below.
Liverpool Route: 07:13 Liverpool - Euston 10:07 Euston - Liverpool 09:04 Liverpool - Euston 14:02 Euston - Liverpool 13:13 Liverpool - Euston 19:07 Euston - Liverpool
We remain focused on what all our passengers want by monitoring and catering to evolving travel patterns and demand. To improve customer experience, we invest in measures informed by customer insight.
We remain focused on what all our passengers want by monitoring and catering to evolving travel patterns and demand. To improve customer experience, we invest in measures informed by customer insight.
Back in June, we welcomed the completion of the 56th and last refurbished Pendolino. Our £117m refurbishment programme - the UK’s biggest ever fleet upgrade - has returned the whole Pendolino fleet to an ‘as new’ condition, with new seats, better lighting, more luggage space and more accessible spaces. Alstom’s Widnes facility has delivered 574 refurbished carriages in just over two years, at a rate of one completed train every two weeks.
Alongside our Pendolinos, our new fleet of Hitachi trains will provide more space, more reliable Wi-Fi, wireless charging, and real-time customer information, whilst delivering a 68.6% cut in carbon. The trains were named Evero after consultation with our people and stakeholders. The EV comes from Electric Vehicle, one of the main benefits of the fleet is its electric and bi-mode capability, and Vero is True in Italian, or eVero. The 23-strong fleet consists of 10 seven-carriage electric trains (Class 807) and 13 five-carriage bi-modes (Class 805). They will initially serve routes from London to the Midlands, Chester, North Wales and then in the North West.
Our loyalty programme Club Avanti recently won two accolades at the International Loyalty Awards and Marketing Society Awards. The programme provides customers with great value for money and encourages them to choose the train over other modes of transport.
Our Superfare has also been recognised, winning the “Passenger experience” category at this year’s Railway Innovation Awards. We’ve now expanded Superfare to more routes, enabling more customers to book a journey for a morning, afternoon, or evening on a specific date at a cheaper fare, matching passengers to an empty seat on a quieter train.
We manage 16 stations across the West Coast Main Line and are the lead retailer at the WCML’s four largest stations. We continue to collaborate with our partners to make and support investments in our stations.
We manage 16 stations across the West Coast Main Line and are the lead retailer at the WCML’s four largest stations (London Euston, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly and Glasgow Central). We continue to collaborate with our partners to make and support investments in our stations.
As part of our efforts to adapt to the challenging industry environment, we have introduced new and innovative approaches, such as our joint service groups with Network Rail and other operators to take a deep dive into key recurring regional issues, to deliver collaborative solutions.
There has been significant collaboration with Network Rail and other TOCs to deliver a more joined-up approach to track and train operations and communications, for example in recent engineering works as well as on-the-day disruptions, and improvements to Manchester Piccadilly platform management and departure punctuality; or to reduce lost time due to congestion across traffic pinch points.
Our ‘Take care. Get there.’ campaign uses artwork to draw attention to parts of our station buildings that improve safety. Lifts, stairs, and handrails have been brought to life to help customers navigate railway stations safely. The designs, which include bespoke wraps on Stafford station’s lifts, have been installed at stations across the west coast route to make it easier for those who may be unfamiliar with our stations.
