Avanti
West
Coast,
owned
by
FirstGroup
and
Trenitalia,
is
unlikely
to
have
its
contract
terminated
early,
according
to
reports
this
morning.

The
operator
has
been
in
trouble
over
high
levels
of
cancellations,
and
Transport
for
the
North
has
called
for
the
government
to
end
the
contract,
claiming
that
its
terms
have
been
breached.

Mayors
in
the
north
of
England
have
supported
TfN,
with
Manchester
Mayor
Andy
Burnham
urging
the
transport
secretary
to
take
action.

But
legal
advice
since
provided
to
Louise
Haigh
says
Avanti
is
not
in
breach,
according
to
the
Financial
Times.

First
Rail
managing
director
Steve
Montgomery
has
defended
his
company’s
position,
saying:
‘FirstGroup
has
not
done
anything
wrong.’

Unconfirmed
reports
allege
that
the
company’s
current
National
Rail
Contract
had ‘rewarded
failure’
and
had
been
written
in
a
way
that
would
make
it
’difficult’
for
the
company
to
commit
a
breach
on
performance
grounds.
The
Department
for
Transport
has
not
commented
on
this.

Avanti
had
been
given
two
six-month
contracts
to
provide
an
opportunity
for
recovery,
and
was
then
granted
a
National
Rail
Contract
which
started
on
15
October
2023
with
a
minimum
contract
term
of
three
years,
so
that
the
first
termination
date
is
18
October
2026.

The
government’s
Passenger
Railway
Services
(Public
Ownership)
Bill
is
set
to
receive
its
second
reading
in
the
House
of
Lords
on
7
October.

When
passed,
it
will
make
public
ownership
of
passenger
operating
contracts
the
default,
rather
than
the
last
resort.

Four
English
operators
have
been
renationalised
since
2018,
and
ten
former
franchises
are
currently
still
in
the
private
sector.

Two
of
these,
Chiltern
Railways
and
Govia
Thameslink
Railway,
are
due
to
reach
contract
break
points
on
1
April
next
year,
when
they
could
be
terminated.