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

We’re working hard to deliver consistently reliable services. Across the last five months, cancellation levels have been steadily and consistently improving across the network. We’ve gathered below some of the key industry metrics that show how we’re doing on cancellations, punctuality and delays, customer satisfaction, and generating growth so that you can judge this for yourself. We’ll update these in every 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.

In Period 10, the four weeks from 8 December to 4 January, cancellations we were responsible for (TOC On Self) rose from 4.1% in P9 to 5% in P10, reflective of the challenges that all operators face during the winter months. This is higher than we would like, however it was less than half the level that we have experienced in the previous two years during the same timeframe. We continue to look at ways to improve reliability during the challenges of winter. Positively, despite the seasonal pressures, our punctuality improved from the previous period.

As this data shows, this period saw reductions in overall cancellations and delays, with both having improved from this time last year.

While there is still more to do, we are now seeing signs that the focused work undertaken with Network Rail and other industry partners to jointly address the key drivers of poor performance is starting to improve our service for customers. We continue to work with partners to drive down those delays out of our direct control. Throughout the winter we have been collectively doing all we can to reduce the impact of bad weather on our services.

We are working hard to continue to attract back passengers and deliver growth. The investment we are making in passenger experience is having a significant impact on positive  sentiment. Prior to Christmas our score for customer net advocacy had reached levels not seen since before the pandemic and remains significantly higher than in previous years. In turn, this is leading to our passenger numbers continuing to grow as more customers trust us to deliver a reliable journey. We will continue to invest in improvements to our services and deliver further growth.

On Monday 13 January we hosted a parliamentary reception to celebrate the positive social impact delivered by our award-winning Feel Good Field Trips programme. We were delighted so many MPs, colleagues, partner organisations, and community groups were able to join us for the celebration, alongside pupils and teachers from some of the schools who benefitted from these trips.

See what attendees of our reception thought about Feel Good Field Trips

You can read more about the project in our report and view more photos from the reception.

Feel Good Field Trips were launched in April 2022 to build on Avanti’s schools programme, which connects young people from a range of backgrounds to opportunities across our route. Supported by Community Rail Lancashire, the project has provided 215 trips for 5,250 pupils aged four to 18, travelling 50,000 miles on the West Coast Main Line to 60 destinations. The entirely free trips have provided invaluable opportunities to participate in cultural, educational, and enriching experiences, promoting rail travel and careers.

We’re immensely proud of the unique experiences and learning opportunities our Feel Good Field Trips have offered young people local to our route. This amazing achievement is credit to Dave Savage and the support of everyone at Community Rail Lancashire, as well as colleagues at Avanti West Coast. Their dedication and enthusiasm to this initiative has enabled children to learn outside the classroom, visit new places and have fun. For many of these children it was the first time they had attended such trips or even been on a train. The impact these days out have had on learning and development has been profound and they have provided many memorable experiences for our colleagues too.

The reception showcased what the campaign has delivered and encouraged discussions on future projects to connect young people from all backgrounds to learning opportunities on the west coast. Pupils also got the chance to spot London landmarks, dress-up in railway uniform, and were all given goodie bags to take home. We are pleased to have had such positive feedback from those who attended.

There were speeches from Connor Naismith MP (Crewe and Nantwich), our Managing Director Andy Mellors, Richard Watts and Dave Savage from Community Rail Lancashire, Joanne Kerr from West Coventry Academy, and Lois Wilson from St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Crewe.

Speaking after the reception Connor Naismith MP, whose constituency benefitted from Feel Good Field Trips, said: “I was delighted to speak at the Avanti West Coast Feel Good Field Trips reception in Parliament.

“The Feel Good Field Trips programme has not only provided students with memorable experiences but has also broadened their horizons and sparked a newfound interest in the world around them. These trips have inspired curiosity and a love for learning.

“As the MP for Crewe and Nantwich, I am particularly proud to see the positive impact this programme has had on our young people, including the students and staff from Underwood West Academy in my constituency, who have been enthusiastic participants in this fantastic initiative.

“Thank you to Avanti West Coast for running this campaign, which has provided thousands of children with invaluable opportunities to participate in enriching experiences across the West Coast Mainline and connected our young people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds with opportunities along the route. We must ensure that railways remain a source of inspiration and opportunity for years to come.”

On Monday 2 December we hosted a parliamentary reception to celebrate how rail makes a positive difference to people’s lives up and down the West Coast Mainline, as we launched our Social Value report. 

It was great to have so many MPs, colleagues and industry partners in attendance, with speeches from the Chair of the Transport Select Committee Ruth Cadbury, our Managing Director Andy Mellors, Purpose Coalition Engagement Director Nick Forbes CBE, and our Social Value and Accessibility Manager Dr Theresa Robberts.

You can read more in our social value report.

As measured using the Rail Safety and Standards Board’s Rail Social Value Tool, last year we created £345 million in social value, an almost two-thirds increase on last year (£212 million). Over the last two years, we have created over half a billion pounds of social value – so we’re well on track to hit our target of £1 billion by 2031.

We’ve also made significant progress towards creating a better world, from cutting our carbon emissions to levelling the playing field for our people and all who want to work with us.

It was great to have our efforts recognised by the Rt Hon Justine Greening, Chair of the Purpose Coalition and former Secretary of State for Transport, who said “Avanti West Coast’s commitment to social impact and social value can be part of setting a benchmark for others in the industry”.

Key highlights from this year include:

• Enriching the lives of more than 8,000 children. Our schools engagement programme, Feel Good Field Trips and numerous station-led events focused on children within our communities, educating them about rail safety, equality and diversity and environmental issues. They were also encouraged to consider a career in rail.
• 76,633 customers supported through Passenger Assist. We have bolstered this service with the introduction of Travel Companion (an online message platform that puts customers directly in touch with staff ready to help) and GoodMaps (a wayfinding indoor GPS that helps customers find their way inside our stations).
• Station-led events supporting the communities we serve. We have more than doubled our social value impact in communities by supporting local organisations and charities. Our stations have played a key role by doubling the number of community events and programmes organised.

With our goal to become the leading train company in social value impact measurement, we are looking forward to a year with an abundance of opportunities to build sustainable communities and a resilient workforce. We will continue to work with leaders across sectors and industries to break down barriers to opportunity and deliver social value to the people and places that need it the most.

We have been actively supporting the people, places and communities we serve, and recognising this work at our Community Rail Conference.   

Championing local people and places at our Community Rail Conference

Our annual Community Rail Conference in December was a great opportunity to bring people together to share ideas, make new connections and gain an insight into projects that have benefitted places we serve. You can watch a video from the conference here.

Representatives from Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) attending the event in Stafford heard from our Managing Director, Andy Mellors, and Social Value and Accessibility Manager, Dr Theresa Robberts, as well as representatives from Community Rail Network. During the conference CRPs discussed the importance of connecting people with the railway and offered practical tips on how to do this.

They also took part in a session to create ideas for Railway 200 – a year-long nationwide campaign starting in January 2025 to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway – to encourage applications for funding to deliver activities associated with the celebrations.

Community Rail initiatives help bring communities closer to the railway - whether it’s for learning, cultural activities, or tackling social needs – and we’re proud to play a role to deliver these. We also hope to inspire others to get involved in their railway, so they can make even more of a positive difference locally. 

We continued our railway station safety campaign and celebrated the success of our “Let’s go car free” scheme to support Cumbrian tourism, as we continue to collaborate with our partners to make and support investments in our 16 stations. 

Limited-edition ‘Safety Thirst’ low alcohol beer for Christmas  

Over Christmas we launched a safety campaign with a new low alcohol beer to help reduce customer accidents on board and at stations during the festive period. The limited-edition beer was created in partnership with Birmingham Brewing Company, who are local to the West Coast Main Line, and is based on their award-winning low alcohol pale ale, Sober Brummie. 

Named “Safety Thirst”, the 0.5 percent pale ale, was stocked onboard our trains to encourage those enjoying festivities to drink responsibly while travelling on the rail network, as part of our “Take care. Get there” campaign, which aims to help customers navigate railway stations safely.

The initiative was backed by the UK’s leading alcohol charity Drinkaware and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). Figures compiled by the RSSB show the number of accidents on the GB mainline network last year where intoxication was a possible factor increased by 45 percent during the Christmas period.

The campaign helped reduce accidents at our stations by 25% from the previous month and 13% from the year before, and we also saw a 100% improvement in assaults against our colleagues where alcohol was a factor, with no reported incidents. 

“Let’s go car free” wins Marketing Campaign of the Year at UK Bus Awards

The “Let’s go car free” scheme, which was set up by Avanti West Coast in partnership with Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire and Cumbria Tourism, won the ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ at the UK Bus Awards last year.

The initiative, which ran from September 2023 until November this year, advertised Cumbria as a destination to visit, whilst encouraging tourists to have a more sustainable trip by leaving their cars at home. It highlighted the ease of travel by rail, as well as connectivity to local bus routes around the region. The campaign, in response to Cumbria Tourism’s independent research last year that it was difficult to get to the region by rail or bus, has helped increase visitors to the county.

As part of the collaborative work between the three organisations, Keswick was also added to railway journey planners this summer so visitors could travel seamlessly across train and bus on a single integrated ticket.

The judges praised the green focus of the campaign by helping to support local Cumbria Tourism’s objectives to increase visitor numbers sustainably to the region.

On 15 December we started our new timetable, running an additional 82 services each week, taking us to a new total of 1,895 in a typical week, an increase of 4.5%. 

The extra services, coupled with the deployment of more of our new £350m Evero fleet of trains, will deliver an additional 32,000 seats weekly bringing the total to over one million seats available each week.

Delivering on our commitment to improve connectivity to the regions we serve, we hope to be able to encourage more people to travel by train. Running more trains so we can offer over one million seats each week is key to restoring the confidence of our customers.

On 16 December, Sarah Edwards, MP for Tamworth, Dave Robertson, MP for Lichfield and Toby Rackliff from West Midland Rail Executive joined us on one of our first new services calling at Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley. The December timetable added Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth as regular stops, providing to a major improvement in connectivity in addition to peak services that call at each station during the week and weekend. 

Full details of the additional services can be found below.

Over the Christmas period, we said goodbye to our Super Voyagers as they were fully replaced by Everos in our December timetable, and celebrated one of our longest serving colleagues.

Farewell to the Super Voyager

The launch of our new timetable in December marked the end of Super Voyager’s 22-year service on the West Coast Main Line with the trains replaced by our new £350m Evero fleet. Introduced in 2002, the fleet amassed over 109 million miles whilst serving routes from London to the West Midlands, North Wales, Blackpool and Scotland.

The Evero fleet is quieter, roomier, and delivers an over two-thirds reduction in carbon. Customer benefits include wireless charging, improved Wi-Fi, more seats than the trains they replace and greater legroom thanks to a more ergonomic design, larger luggage racks and more real-time customer information screens which are easier to read.

The new trains also feature improved wheelchair spaces with contrasting carpet and a large accessibility symbol, so customers do not place their luggage in this space. There are improvements to the accessible toilets compared to the previous fleet as well as Braille and large print labels on seats.

Heart of Gold Awards

In December, Frances Phillips, our Onboard Service Manager received Heart of Gold’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 awards ceremony hosted by railway charity, Railway Benefit Fund (RBF). The award recognises Frances’ 35 year career on the railway.

Frances said: “The entire journey from being nominated to winning has been completely overwhelming. In my eyes, I am only turning up to work every day in a job that I enjoy doing. I love the daily interaction with customers, seeing the potential in staff both new and old, and helping my team on the way to achieve their goals. I have loved every part of this journey on the railway. My colleagues really make my time here special, at the end of the day, we are one big family."