Avanti West coast contract extended to 1st April 2023

[Snow1964]

DfT has extended Avanti Weat Coast Contract to 1st April 2023

Avanti West Coast has been given a short-term extension by the government, but has been warned it needs to "drastically improve services".

The decision will enable it to continue running services on the route until next April, the Department for Transport said.
Avanti came under fire after cutting the number of trains between London and Manchester by a third in August.
It had apologised for problems caused by the reduced services.
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said services on Avanti have been "unacceptable".
"While the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers," she said.
"We have agreed a six-month extension to Avanti to assess whether it is capable of running this crucial route to a standard passengers deserve and expect."

Avanti West Coast ordered to 'drastically' improve rail services

Train operator is given a short-term extension to continue running services on the west coast mainline.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Department for Transport has placed Avanti West Coast on a short-term contract and challenged it to deliver the urgent increase in services required.

Over the past few months, Avanti has seen major operational issues primarily caused by a shortage of available drivers. Nearly 100 additional drivers will have entered formal service this year between April and December. This has meant the company has begun to add more services as new drivers and those who need re-training become available to work. They have also added extra trains on its key London-Manchester and London-Birmingham routes, bringing service levels closer to normal running.

With Avanti’s previous contract coming to an end, the short-term extension will see it continue to run services on the route until 1 April 2023. This window is designed to provide Avanti with the opportunity to improve their services. The government will then consider Avanti’s performance while finalising a National Rail Contract that will have a renewed focus on resilience of train services and continuity for passengers.

Alongside rolling ahead with training new drivers, Avanti’s service improvement plans include:

• the successful delivery of its timetable recovery plan and a significant, sustained and reliable increase from about 180 trains per day to 264 trains per day on weekdays as new and retrained drivers become available
• continuing to deliver on its traincrew recruitment and plans to reduce reliance on rest day working to operate services
• extending booking options for passengers, making the full range of tickets available as early as possible

Avanti West Coast placed on short-term contract to drastically improve services

The Department for Transport has placed Avanti West Coast on a short-term contract and challenged it to deliver the urgent increase in services required.

www.gov.uk

 

[jfollows]

Statement re West Coast Partnership Contract Extension from https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/f/firstgroup-plc-ordinary-5p?tab=security_news

FIRSTGROUP PLC - Statement re West Coast Partnership Contract Extension
PR Newswire
London, October 6
FIRSTGROUP PLC
WEST COAST PARTNERSHIP CONTRACT EXTENSION
FirstGroup plc today announces that it has agreed with the Department for Transport ('DfT') to extend the current contractual arrangements for the West Coast Partnership ('WCP') to the end of March 2023. The WCP rail contract comprises operation of Avanti West Coast and acting as shadow operator to the HS2 programme.
WCP is currently operating under an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement ('ERMA') which was put in place by the DfT in September 2020 to provide continuity for rail passengers and the industry during the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The ERMA arrangements for WCP were previously set to expire on 16 October 2022 and will now run until the end of March 2023 under broadly the same terms and conditions. Discussions are ongoing with DfT regarding the longer-term National Rail Contract for WCP.
Commenting, Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer said:
"We are committed to working closely with government and our partners across the industry to deliver a successful railway that serves the needs of our customers and communities. Today's agreement allows our team at Avanti West Coast to sustain their focus on delivering their robust plan to restore services to the levels that passengers rightly expect."

I feel that this is the "do nothing because we're too busy to be able to do anything else" option.

What would be welcome would be more precise terms for the extension, and conditions against which First/Avanti needs to perform in order to consider a more permanent extension, and a definition of what will happen if not. I think we're more likely to be left in the dark and will go through the same obfuscation in six months time.

EDIT To some extent that's now in Snow1964's edited post above, thank you.

 

[Snow1964]

DfT has also published some sort of correction notice

Details​

This notice is published to update (and rectify) the previous prior information notice related to the West Coast Partnership direct award, which was published on the contracting authority’s website on 20 August 2021.

[Withdrawn] Prior information notice (PIN) for direct award of West Coast Partnership contract (corrigendum)

www.gov.uk

 

[jfollows]

From https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...f-west-coast-partnership-contract-corrigendum per the previous post:

V1.1 Additional information​

This notice is published in order to update (and to rectify) the previous prior information notice related to the West Coast Partnership Direct Award, which was published on the contracting authority’s website on 20 August 2021. That previous notice had envisaged that a single direct award would be made for an envisaged duration of up to 10 years in total. It is now envisaged that the precise future contractual arrangements will be different to that.

The current contractual arrangements for the West Coast Partnership are a franchise agreement entered into by the Secretary of State for Transport and the operator on 28 August 2019 (the “franchise agreement”), as varied by the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (“ERMA”) entered into by the parties on 19 September 2020.

On expiry of the current arrangements, the Secretary of State is making an interim direct award of a public services contract, to take the form of an extension to the duration of the Franchise Agreement as varied by the ERMA. This will extend the expiry date from 16 October 2022 to 1 April 2023. The decision by the Secretary of State to grant the interim award (by way of an extension on the same terms) constitutes the direct award of a public service contract for the purposes of Article 5(6) of Regulation 1370/2007, being a legally binding act confirming the agreement between the Secretary of State and the operator to entrust to the operator the continuing management and operation of public transport services for the relevant period subject to public service obligations.

It is currently envisaged that following the expiry of the interim award, a new successor direct award will be entered into with the operator for a duration expiring no later than 17 October 2032. The duration of the successor award may be made up of a core term and one or more optional periods with the option(s) exercisable by the Secretary of State.

The envisaged total cumulative duration of the interim award plus the successor award will not exceed 10 years, consistent with the position described in the previous notice (and the envisaged duration stated in II.2.7 of this notice therefore remains unchanged).

The contracting authority reserves the right not to proceed with the interim direct award and / or the successor direct award as envisaged or to use an alternative method to procure an operator.

 

[JamieL]

A bad decision that rewards failure IMHO.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

A bad decision that rewards failure IMHO.

DfT will know that there is no quick fix, and they will make First/TI sweat for the longer term contract.
I'd call it a final warning, with some demanding metrics about service uplift within 6 months.

 

[JamieL]

DfT will know that there is no quick fix, and they will make First/TI sweat for the longer term contract.
I'd call it a final warning, with some demanding metrics about service uplift within 6 months.

I wish I had your faith in both the Westminster Government and the Department for Transport. IMHO all this shows is complete disregard for the poor service on the WCML - the contract extension merely signals that the issue simply doesn't matter. Even now, Avanti have yet to finalise a timetable for a fortnight tomorrow - when many will want to get away for half-term. The result will people using car and air to move rather than the useless railway.

I fully accept there are no easy fixes for the WCML - but Avanti is part of the problem and not the solution IMHO. At the very least, we need a TOC that can start rebuilding relations with its staff and customers.

 

[Snow1964]

A bad decision that rewards failure IMHO.

More like DfT left it too late to bring in alternatives.

If they handed it to Operator of last resort, the current shambles could have tainted that name, so probably seen as better to keep Avanti brand whilst reduced service mess continues for few more weeks.

My gut feeling is Avanti are on a knife edge regarding their ability to retain it and if not a full good service and ticketing by Christmas, DfT will be appointing someone else in January to take over in April.

 

[Bakerloo]

An absolute joke.

 

[diffident]

An absolute joke.

I agree.

I also agree with others assertions that this is the DfT letting Avanti fall on their sword.

They will be gone in six months and I reckon First Group will probably exit UK rail at the same time. That’s probably the bigger concern for government.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I reckon First Group will probably exit UK rail at the same time. That’s probably the bigger concern for government.

Why? GWR seems to be doing OK.

 

[FrodshamJnct]

An absolute joke.

Completely agree. 6 months is not a long time at all in the grand scheme of things. I cannot see Avanti turning this round in that timeframe.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Conveniently long enough to mobilise the OLR?

 

[diffident]

Why? GWR seems to be doing OK.

To expand on my earlier comment, I think First will focus on their non-franchise operations, rather than being tied to DfT contracts and terms. Lumo and Hull Trains seem to be performing well for them.

 

[Dave91131]

The result will people using car and air to move rather than the useless railway.

And so they should. I couldn't agree more, especially with the "useless" term.

Aside from the die harders who profess that they would rather not travel at all than use road or air transport, I don't see how anyone could even begin to trust the railway (not just Avanti) to get them where they need to be when they need to be there at present - especially if any planning more than 14 days ahead is required.

The railway is on a very fast track to irrelevance.

 

[Pinus contorta]

Wonder what Andy Burnham will be saying about all this? It's almost as if the extra 6 months is to wind him up.

 

[jfollows]

To me the issue is that I'm not sure the conditions with the extension mean anything, so in six months we'll be here again, the politicians will be too busy stabbing each other in the front and nothing will have changed. So it'll be extended by another six months. I hope that's not true. But it seems that there's no "if you don't do X then you're out" where "X" is something concrete rather than just aspirational, so it leaves room for "things are better now than six months ago" in six months time as a justification for a further extension.

EDIT The corollary to this, of course, which I'm sure is intentional, is that if the politicians have got their act together, then they can boot out First/Avanti in six months because they will always be able to come up with a reason for Avanti's failure to deliver over the period. So Andy Burnham will carry on plugging away.

 

[gaillark]

Aside from the die harders who profess that they would rather not travel at all than use road or air transport, I don't see how anyone could even begin to trust the railway (not just Avanti) to get them where they need to be when they need to be there at present - especially if any planning more than 14 days ahead is required.

The railway is on a very fast track to irrelevance.

Totally agree.
Given up with Avanti and East Midlands Railway last year. Total irrelevance now as driving is far more convenient and reliable. Avanti's loss at £510 each time to Manchester.

 

[100andthirty]

There are really only two options: a direct award to Avanti on terms similar to those for SWR (be careful what you wish for) or being taken into the OLR for which rumour has is that it hasn't the capacity to lead more than the three operations for which it is responsible.

It is already too late for the option of a competition for a successor ignoring all the uncertainty about passenger numbers. The key issue isn't about ownership, it's about getting people into the business who can make sure there's enouhg trained staff and equally if not more importantm to rebuild morale and a culture of excellent service like West Coast Main line operators of the past.

 

[LYuen]

I wish DfT is just buying time to take over the franchise. Does Virgin say anything so far?

 

[Bertie the bus]

Does Virgin say anything so far?

Virgin can say whatever it wants. Virgin's opinion on the matter is about as relevant and important as yours or mine.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Virgin can say whatever it wants. Virgin's opinion on the matter is about as relevant and important as yours or mine.

And don't forget that Virgin Rail Group was dead anyway. A new "Virgin" would in fact have been a Stagecoach operation like the failure that was VTEC. Branson is no longer interested in direct operation of anything, he's now into brand licensing.

 

[6Gman]

And so they should. I couldn't agree more, especially with the "useless" term.

Aside from the die harders who profess that they would rather not travel at all than use road or air transport, I don't see how anyone could even begin to trust the railway (not just Avanti) to get them where they need to be when they need to be there at present - especially if any planning more than 14 days ahead is required.

The railway is on a very fast track to irrelevance.

I'm avoiding Avanti, but the other operators I have used recently have been fine.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I wish DfT is just buying time to take over the franchise. Does Virgin say anything so far?

It's complicated by HS2.
The Avanti contract has elements related to planning for HS2 services and the WCML changes when they start.
Trenitalia is there as the high speed consultant.
DfT won't want to rebuild the "West Coast Partnership" unless there really is no alternative.
There's scope for some "World Class" egg-on-face if that happens.

 

[footprints]

The RMT have shown what they think about the announcement. Two days of strike action called for Avanti train managers on 22 October and 6 November over the imposition of rosters. Doing their bit to ensure Avanti continue to offer an appalling service, I guess.

 

[Bald Rick]

Pretty obvious, as there was no other option.

 

[jfollows]

Pretty obvious, as there was no other option.

I think there was, but nobody was prepared to take it.
I mean, completely destroy the credibility for sound finance, impose huge increases on mortgage rates, yes. Get rid of an obviously failing company and replace it with one which will do better, no.

 

[subk2010]

Sorry but I thought the franchise was to 2026 ?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Sorry but I thought the franchise was to 2026 ?

There's no franchise any more.
Avanti had (like other TOCs post-Covid) a short-term ERMA which expired on 16 October, now extended to 1 April 2023.
But they were in line for a National Rail Contract of up to 10 years (matching the original franchise term) to include start-up of HS2.
That contract is still being negotiated, pending Avanti's performance in the next 6 months.

 

[Thirteen]

This seems like either can kicking or the DfT buying themselves time to replace Avanti in the long term.