Background In November 2016, the
Department for Transport (DfT) announced that the
InterCity West Coast franchise, which was held by
Virgin Trains from 1997 to 2019, would be superseded by the
West Coast Partnership (WCP). The principal change of the WCP was the inclusion of the
High Speed 2 (HS2) services, then envisioned to start around 2026. Accordingly, the DfT required that bidders have experience in operating high-speed trains and the associated infrastructure, which led to all tendering parties either being, or partnering with, an existing high-speed operator. In June 2017, the DfT announced that three consortia had been shortlisted to bid for the franchise: •
FirstGroup (70%) /
Trenitalia (30%) •
MTR Corporation (75%) /
Guangshen Railway Company (25%) •
Stagecoach (50%) /
SNCF (30%) /
Virgin Group (20%) In December 2018, the Spanish state-owned company
Renfe Operadora joined the MTR-led bid. In April 2019, the incumbent Stagecoach-led bid was disqualified after it had proposed significant changes to the commercial terms, specially in regards to staff
pensions. Stagecoach disputed its disqualification and launched a legal challenge to have it overturned. On 17 June 2020, the
High Court ruled against the company, deciding that the decision had been lawful. In August 2019, the DfT awarded the franchise to the First Trenitalia consortium with Avanti West Coast to commence operations on 8 December 2019. The
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a
merger inquiry into the award of the franchise following a referral from the
European Commission. In December 2019, the CMA approved the franchise's award; concerns that limited competition on some routes could lead to higher fares and less availability of cheaper tickets were offset by the agreement of
price caps to be present in some regions. Avanti West Coast promised retiring diesel
Voyager trains by 2022, Wi-Fi improvements, and adding 263 weekly train services. Avanti unveiled their orange triangle logo, representing the three geographic points of the
West Coast Main Line. Virgin Trains tickets were accepted as valid fare for another 24 weeks after Saturday, 7 December 2019.
Strikes and train cancellations (2022–2024); contract extensions and nationalisation Services were curtailed in 2020 due to a decline of passenger travel and staffing shortages during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The DfT produced an Emergency Measures Agreement (EMA) and then in September 2020, an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA), which extended Avanti West Coast's contract until 1 April 2031. Avanti West Coast was impacted by the
2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers were amongst those who voted to take
industrial action due a dispute over pay and working conditions. In response, the company appealed for the general public to avoid the railways for non-essential travel on the affected dates of 21, 23, and 25 June 2022, as only a minimal service could be run due to the number of staff choosing not to work. On 29 June 2022, Avanti West Coast's staff voted in favour of further strikes. Between 14 August and 18 September 2022, Avanti West Coast reduced its timetable, citing unofficial
strike action from its employees. However, this allegation was disputed by
Aslef. In August 2022, the
Mayor of Greater Manchester,
Andy Burnham, expressed his frustration at Avanti West Coast and explained his intention to ask the then
Prime Minister,
Boris Johnson, to rescind the Avanti West Coast franchise. In September 2022, the CEO of Avanti West Coast resigned amid the timetable controversy. In October 2022, the UK Government extended Avanti's contract for six months but stated "drastic improvements" were necessary. According to figures released by the
Office of Rail and Road on 12 November 2022, Avanti West Coast had the worst record of train cancellations in the year prior to this date. The average cancellation rate in Great Britain was 3.8%, while Avanti West Coast's rate was 8%. In March 2023, the Avanti West Coast contract was extended by six months to expire on 15 October 2023. On 19 September 2023, DfT extended the contract, starting on 15 October 2023, with a core term of three years (to 18 October 2026) and a maximum term of nine years (to 17 October 2032). At that time, the DfT said that Avanti-caused cancellations were consistently below 3% since March 2023. In December 2024, it was announced that Avanti West Coast would be nationalised as part of the abolition of
passenger rail franchising in Great Britain. Avanti West Coast routes will be taken over by
Great British Railways by October 2027. ==Services==