Avanti has vowed to “rebuild trust” after it has been controversially awarded a long-term contract to operate the West Coast Main Line.
It comes after the company had previously been given until 1 April 2023 to continue running the route from London to Glasgow, but had been told that it needed to “drastically improve” its services if it was to stand any chance of having the contract extended further beyond that date due to its chaotic past since taking over from Virgin in December 2019.
Despite many customers still expressing discontent with level of services during this time, the Department for Transport (DfT) still went on to award Avanti another six-month contract extension from the start of April onwards after it deemed “significant improvements had been made since October”.
The DfT said its decision at the time followed Avanti being ordered to develop a recovery plan aimed at “addressing poor performance on vital West Coast Main Line routes” – including between Manchester, Birmingham, and London.
And now, it has been confirmed today that the operator has, once again, been given full control of the West Coast Main Line by the DfT.
ADVERTISEMENT
Avanti has been awarded a long-term contract to run the West Coast Main Line / Credit: Avanti West Coast
It’s part of a new National Rail Contract known as the West Coast Partnership (WCP).
According to Avanti, the long-term WCP will commence on 15 October 2023 and will last until 17 October 2032, subject to ongoing approval, and will begin with a core three-year term to 18 October 2026.
ADVERTISEMENT
The DfT says it has worked closely with Avanti to “restore reliability and punctuality to levels that passengers expect” throughout the two contract extensions, and it feels the operator’s performance has “improved significantly” – with cancellations said to be consistently below 3% since March 2023, down from 13% in January 2023, and over 90% of trains now arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, which is improved from 75% in December 2022.
Not only that, but more than 100 additional drivers are also said to have been trained and brought on since April 2022, while improvements to passenger facilities on trains have been too been carried out – including better seats, lighting, and charging points.
The operator has vowed to rebuild the public’s “trust and confidence” / Credit: Avanti West Coast
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has reassured the public that the DfT will “stay in close contact” with Avanti throughout the duration of the new long-term partnership to monitor its performance as it continues its progress to a “sustained recovery” and “increase services over time”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Avanti West Coast’s Managing Director, Andy Mellors, admitted that the last year has been “challenging” for the operator as he thanked customers and stakeholders for their “patience” while commenting on the awarding of the new contract.
“There are still challenges ahead,” he added, “but plenty to look forward to”.
Featured Image – Avanti West Coast
News
Major headliner pulls out of Manchester Village Pride
Daisy Jackson
One of the Manchester Village Pride headliners has had to pull out of their scheduled appearance, just one day before the celebrations begin.
Nadine Coyle was supposed to be headlining the LGBTQ+ event on Friday 27 August.
But in a statement shared by Manchester Village Pride today, they announced that the former Girls Aloud star is ‘under the weather’.
Nadine will be pulling out of her headline slot to ‘rest and recuperate’, but added that she hopes to see Manchester for Pride again soon.
Thankfully, Manchester Village Pride has already found a suitably fabulous replacement for the main stage on Friday – B*Witched.
The iconic Irish girl group will be encouraging ticket-holders to dig out their double denim and dance to hits like C’est La Vie and Rollercoaster.
In the statement shared by Manchester Village Pride, Nadine’s team said: “Nadine is so sorry to have to step out of Manchester Village Pride this year. It was her very first Pride many years ago and she loves getting to spend time with you all.
“Nadine’s voice has been under the weather and she only wants to give absolute best to you all which sadly won’t be possible this weekend as she needs time to rest and recuperate.
“We hate to do it so near the day. Nadine was really hoping she was going to be well enough and hopes she can see you in Manchester for Pride again soon.
“Thank you for being so kind and understanding and we hope you have a wonderful weekend.”
Manchester Village Pride added: “We know how excited many of you were for a massive hit of 2000s pop nostalgia, and we promised you a party. We’ve been working around the clock, and we are beyond thrilled to announce that pop royalty B*WITCHED are stepping in at the eleventh hour!”
Chester Zoo announces return of its £10 tickets for limited time only with extended opening hours
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced the return of its popular £10 tickets deal for a limited time only.
You may remember that earlier this summer, Chester Zoo invited people from across the North West to visit for just £10, and as the offer proved so popular, they’ve now brought it back again for a limited time.
For the past three years running now, Chester Zoo has officially been named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews, and now as the summer draws to a close, you’ll get to see exactly what makes it such a special place worth visiting for a cut price.
With the offer only applicable to afternoons this summer, Afternoon Tickets allow entry to Chester Zoo from 2pm onwards – with the last entry being one-hour before it closes.
Chester Zoo is offering £10 tickets to visitors this summer / Credit: Chester Zoo
Without this offer, standard admission tickets to Chester Zoo usually cost up to £38 for adults, £37 for students, and £28 for children, all including a 10% donation to the zoo’s conservation efforts, while babies and carers go free.
So it really is worth making the most of these limited-time £10 tickets while you still can – with the offer now running until 6 September.
The best bit about the offer returning? The zoo is currently operating its extended opening hours until 6pm too, so included for the bargain price of a £10 ticket, you’ll even get to see all the animals while the sun goes down.
Afternoon tickets are only available online and must be booked in advance to claim the £10 offer.
Tickets can only be purchased online before 4pm on the day of your visit, and standard admission tickets can be purchased from our ticket office at the main entrance.
Find out more and book your £10 tickets online here.
Emily Sergeant -
20th September 2023 
