It’s meant that services between Manchester and London have been running as infrequently as once an hour, rather than the usual three per hour.
Avanti also cancelled all seat reservations on journeys booked before 8 August, leading to frequent confusion on board trains.
The company has apologised for the ‘enormous frustration and inconvenience’.
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It added that it has increased the number of unreserved seating to ‘make it easier for customers to find a new seat’.
Several people have said they’ve headed to their reserved seat to find it double-booked, and passengers left to stand or try to find a vacant space on busy services instead.
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One person even reported ‘fights breaking out over seats that are reserved but have people sitting in them’ – a matter that Avanti said should be passed on to British Transport Police.
Someone else said: “On the 0630 to Glasgow-London train. @AvantiWestCoast you’re still double booking seats!! Just been forced out our seats 2 hours in by v rude travellers. A quick word with your helpful train manager and it’s easily sorted – she upgraded us! It’s the way you ask. Thanks Karen!!”
One person asked Avanti: “Got my reservation months ago and found that four people have exactly the same reservation. Is this some sort of travel Hunger Games?? 13:09 Crewe to Edinburgh.”
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Someone on Twitter asked: “How the hell do you allow 3 people to book same seat?!? Absolute madness @AvantiWestCoast. Train is chaos and now running late. Complete joke!”
Another said: “Chaos of @AvantiWestCoast really has to be experienced to be believed: only 1 direct train per hour to Manchester from Euston; only 9 coaches booked (not 11) leading to ad hoc declassification; seats double-booked; driver shortage meant 10 min delay; shop cannot take card payment.”
“I spent months commuting to Manchester from London 15 years ago and the Virgin VHF (3 per hour) was a treat: sit-down restaurant car doing cooked breakfast; air-conditioning that worked; no smell & clean seats. 2-hour train journey was something to look forward to, not to suffer.
“By contrast the timetable for mid-September still hasn’t been confirmed, half the ticket machines at Euston were out of order with queues for the ticket booths. This is the main trunk line connecting the UK’s three biggest cities, when it is running at all.”
A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: “The reduced timetable was introduced to ensure a reliable service is delivered so our customers can travel with greater certainty.
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“This decision was not taken lightly, and we’re sorry for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this has caused for customers who booked with us to prior to the timetable change.”
Featured image: Avanti West Coast
News
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”