Avanti West Coast has today been granted another six-month contract extension, after the government says it has made “recent service improvements”.
The company had previously been given until 1 April 2023 to continue running the West Coast Main Line from London to Glasgow by the Department for Transport (DfT), 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.
And now, it’s been announced by the DfT that after “significant improvements have been made since October”, the company has been awarded a further six-month extension to its contract.
The DfT says this decision comes after Avanti was ordered to develop a recovery plan aimed at “addressing poor performance on vital West Coast Main Line routes” – including between Manchester, Birmingham, and London.
Avanti West Coast has been granted another six-month contract extension / Credit: Avanti West Coast
Shortly after being placed on the first short-term contract back in October, Transport Secretary Mark Harper says he travelled to Manchester to meet with stakeholders so he could “further understand what could be done to address the situation and improve services” – and, according to the DfT, this meeting led to the decision to introduce a recovery timetable.
The recovery timetable, which was introduced on 11 December 2022, is said to have since “significantly reduced reliance on overtime working” and has seen services increase from 180 trains per day to 264 on weekdays – which is apparently the highest level in over two years.
The government believes Avanti West Coast has seen “very significant improvements across services” since the introduction of this timetable.
As well as an increase to weekday services, the DfT says Avanti West Coast has also seen a reduction in service cancellations from nearly 25% in August 2022, to 4.2% in early March 2023, which is the lowest in over 12 months.
90% of trains are also said to now arriving within 15 minutes of the booked time, and over 100 additional drivers have been recruited – which is “reducing reliance on union-controlled overtime working”.
The contract extension comes after ‘recent service improvements’ / Credit: Avanti West Coast
The government has conceded though that, although Avanti West Coast has made “significant progress” in the past six months, further work needs to be done to “restore reliability and punctuality to the standards that passengers rightly expect”.
This will include delivering more reliable weekend services, continued reductions in cancellations, and improvements in passenger information during planned and unplanned disruption.
“The routes Avanti West Coast run are absolutely vital,” Transport Secretary Mark Harper said.
“I fully understand the frustrations passengers felt at the completely unacceptable services seen last Autumn, but following our intervention, Rail Minister Huw Merriman and I have worked closely with local leaders to put a robust plan in place, which I’m glad to see is working.
“However, there is still more work to be done to bring services up to the standards we expect, which is why over this next six months further improvements will need to be made by Avanti West Coast.”
Featured Image – Avanti West Coast
News
New data reveals a third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday
Emily Sergeant
Surprising new data has revealed that a third of Brits admits to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday.
After a long and tiring week, most of us would love the chance to clock off work a little earlier than usual on a Friday, but for a lot of workers, this isn’t always a possibility – and for some, they even have to work longer at the end of the week to make sure everything has been finished off and tied up before the weekend arrives.
But since there has been a noticeable rise in remote working and working from home, a new survey has revealed that working attitudes have changed.
Virgin Media has released new broadband data that reveals a drop in traffic on Friday afternoons during the summer months – with as much as an 8% dip between 3-5pm compared to the winter, as remote workers clock off early.
A third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday / Credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters | Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
The Friday traffic drop-off comes from Virgin Media’s broadband network analysis, which it says is a ‘reliable indicator’ of the connectivity habits of the British public.
Alongside the network data, Virgin Media also asked Brits about their work policies and working habits ij a bid to fully understand the trend.
Nearly a third (30%) of Brits say they have a formal early Friday finish in place during the summer, but despite almost half of UK adults (48%) saying they’re not authorised to finish early on a Friday, 32% have admitted to regularly logging off with or without official permission.
Surprising new data has revealed Brits’ working habits / Credit: Chuttersnap (via Unsplash)
Many Brits have also confessed to working ‘on the move’ on a Friday afternoon too.
15% admitted to having worked from the train station as the weekend creeps nearer, as well as 14% from the park, 10% from the pub, and many as 30% of 18-24-year-olds worked from the car while travelling for the weekend.
“Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays,” commented Jeanie York, who is the Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2.
“We’re continuing to boost our fixed and mobile networks so whether Brits are working from their local park, or finishing their work at home, we’re ready to keep them connected.”
Featured Image – Israel Andrade (via Unsplash)
News
Tiny Manchester pub brilliantly condemns ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Daisy Jackson
A micropub in Manchester city centre has spoken out about an ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech.
The Victoria Tap, a tiny little boozer at Manchester Victoria train station, strongly condemned any racist, homophobic or sexist conversations taking place in its venue.
The pub said ‘there is absolutely no room for it’ within its walls.
In a statement – which has been met with praise from customers and followers – they added that anyone bringing hate speech to the pub ‘can let the door kick you on the way out’.
The Victoria Tap wrote: “We’ve noticed an alarming rise in racist, homophobic and sexist slurs/comments/conversations lately and we just want to say that there is absolutely no room for it here.
“This is a safe space for everyone.
“If you, or someone in your group, want to disturb this philosophy, you can let the door kick you on the way out.”
The Victoria Tap has brilliantly condemned ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Praising their statement, one person wrote: “Great to read this. There is NO place for this. All public spaces should be welcoming.”
Another said: “Pubs should be welcoming environments for people of all walks of life. There’s no room for misogyny, racism or discrimination of any kind. Those who espouse those thoughts need a good hard look in the mirror.”
Someone else commented: “That’s how I see the Vic Tap. Great place for a safe quiet pint. Keep up the great work guys as it’s a fantastic venue.”
The Victoria Tap opened at Manchester Victoria back in 2023, completely transforming a space that was previously a bin store.
As well as its cosy interior, it has a small beer garden which overlooks the tram tracks in and out of the train station.
It’s operated by the same team behind the Piccadilly Tap and the even newer Oxford Tap.
We know exactly where we’ll be heading for our next pint now. Good work, Victoria Tap.
Emily Sergeant -
20th March 2023 
