Welcome to our first stakeholder update of 2025. This edition is packed with details on how we’re performing, returning a premium to taxpayers, and creating social impact across the communities we serve.
We continue working hard to make improvements in collaboration with our industry partners. Performance in November and December is traditionally challenging for all train operators as a result of seasonal factors including weather, sickness and annual leave. For example, the landslide at Polesworth at the beginning of December resulted in a reduction for the Manchester route from three to two trains per hour for a short period of time and impacted punctuality due to speed restrictions and capacity reduction as one line was closed.
After four consecutive periods when cancellations that AWC were responsible for reduced, we saw an increase between P8 (13 October – 10 November) and P10 (8 December – 5 January) from 2.7% to 5%. Whilst these cancellations are higher than we would like to see, they were significantly lower than the spikes that we experienced in the previous two years during the same timeframe. You can read more about our performance in 'How are we doing'.
Across November and December, AWC were responsible for 21.7% of delays to our services which is an improvement on historic figures. The vast majority of delays were due to infrastructure failures which is why we continue to work in close partnership with Network Rail to address the infrastructure challenges on our network to make sure our customers get the service they deserve.
Our partnership with Network Rail is delivering benefits. We now board more than half of services at Euston station 15-minutes or more before departure, helping to prevent the ‘Euston Rush’. Customer feedback has been incredibly positive, but we know there is still more work to do. We welcomed the opportunity to brief the Rail Minister and route MPs at Euston station, alongside partners from the Department for Transport, Network Rail, HS2 Ltd and The Euston Partnership.
Overall improvements have been recognised by passengers, with the score for customer advocacy now at levels far higher than this time last year and achieving the best since the pandemic in P8.
Under the National Rail Contracts, cost and revenue risk were transferred to the Government. Avanti West Coast, like other operators, are paid a fee to run the operation. Our £117m Pendolino fleet refurbishment, introduction of our new environmentally friendly £350m Evero fleet and progressive timetable uplifts have resulted in the highest growth of any DfT operator. As a result of these improvements, we are one of only two operators who are returning a premium to Government and generating more money to the taxpayer than we are receiving in subsidy.
We are in the privileged position of being able to make a positive difference to people’s lives up and down the UK. In December, we launched our social value report in Westminster, where MPs and stakeholders helped us to celebrate the £345 million in social value we have delivered this year - a great step towards our target of hitting £1 billion by 2031. Read more about the event here.
At the beginning of January, we were back in Parliament to celebrate our Feel Good Field Trips, which have provided 5,000 school pupils from disadvantaged areas with the chance to travel by train, and enjoy cultural and educational experiences along the route, all for free. Thank you to those who were able to join us at these events, especially pupils and teachers from some of the schools who benefitted from these trips. Read more about the event here.
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