Labour threatens to terminate Avanti rail contract over ‘woeful’ service

Labour has said it will urgently consider stripping Avanti West Coast of its train operating contract if it wins the general election.

Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, said the company has provided “woeful service” on the West Coast Main Line.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures show Avanti West Coast had the third worst reliability of all operators in Britain in the year to the end of March, with the equivalent of one in 12 of its trains being cancelled.

Telegraph analysis of ORR figures shows that Avanti fully or partially cancelled 8.4 per cent of all its planned trains last year, amounting to 6,900 of the 82,000 it was supposed to run.

This was almost double the 3,700 trains it cancelled in 2022, which amounted to 3.8 per cent of that year’s planned services.

Across all operators 3.75 per cent of trains were cancelled overall, Telegraph data analysis shows

The Conservative Government awarded Avanti West Coast a new long-term contract starting in October last year.

Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, said at the time: “The routes Avanti West Coast operate provide vital connections, and passengers must feel confident that they can rely on the services to get them where they need to be at the right time.”

The agreement can be terminated with three months’ notice at any point from October 18, 2026.

Asked about Labour’s plan to bring train services into public ownership, Ms Haigh told Sky News: “Our commitment is to bring in those contracts as they expire or when they are breached.

“I anticipate I will be seeking advice early on whether Avanti has been in breach of its contract given the woeful service that it’s been providing to passengers down the West Coast Main Line.”

She added: “No ifs, no buts, October 2026 will be the last date Avanti will have notice of that contract [ending] but I will ask for early advice about whether they have already breached their contract and whether it can be brought in any earlier.”

Earlier this month the operator boosted capacity by launching the first six of 23 new Evero trains.

The West Coast Main Line runs between London Euston and Glasgow, with branches to locations such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and North Wales.

Avanti West Coast – owned by FirstGroup, which also operates GWR, and Trenitalia – was approached for a comment.