Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies, who has made repeated calls for Avanti West Coast to, at the very least, re-introduce all of its pre-pandemic services between North Wales and London, has said that the disruptions and cancellations passengers have experienced this week are “indefensible”.
Many passengers have been left stranded with the rail company cancelling trains at the last minute.
James, who was affected by the disruptions himself as he attempted to travel to Parliament on Monday, has contacted the company and the rail minister to convey his disappointment and frustration at the poor service.
He said:
“11th December brought a new timetable with a promised increase in direct services, which, while not quite back to the full timetable of 2019, was finally due to allow some return to normality.
“This week, it has been evident that the majority of Avanti services to and from North Wales remain unavailable. On Monday, I found a chaotic situation where at least two thirds of trains on the West Coast Mainline appeared to be cancelled “due to lack of drivers”, while those that were running were late and overly-full. This situation is compounded by unreliable Transport for Wales service connections.”
In September, James, along with other North Wales Conservative MPs, called for Avanti to lose its franchise due to the poor service it provides.
Instead the contract was renewed for six months with a proviso that it must improve its services following a reduction of its trains in the summer. It promised it would do so by training up new drivers, to a avoid a reliance on volunteered overtime.
In Parliament in October, James called for assurances that the company would resume normal services to and from North Wales by December as it has promised.
In his email to the company this week, he further states:
“When we all said we were sceptical that the promised December 11th timetable would materialise, we hoped against all the odds that promises would finally be met. It seems not.”
In response to James’s email, a spokesperson for Avanti said the short-notice cancellations are due to a combination of factors including “an unusually high number of train faults; for example, we have multiple trains out of use due to ice hitting windscreens.” They said they are also “seeing a shortage of train crew due to various reasons, including sickness.”
They added:
“We know that this is causing an enormous amount of frustration for our customers and we are really sorry for the ongoing issues. We are doing all we can to rectify the situation and make sure our customers get the service they rightly deserve.”
James said:
“I think we would all understand a temporary blip due to damaged trains or unusual levels of staff sickness. The issue is that we seem to see no end to the excuses.
“Today (Tuesday) there have been further “disruptions” or cancellations, including to 13 of the 16 services advertised on the National Rail website from Euston to Prestatyn and Rhyl so far today. This really is indefensible.”
He added:
“We will never encourage more people to travel by train if this is the level of service that is being provided.
“Passengers travelling between London, North Wales and elsewhere have been left high and dry by Avanti West Coast this week. It simply isn’t good enough, particularly days before Christmas when so many are trying to return home to loved ones.
“I have spoken to Huw Merriman MP, the new rail minister, who promises me he is determined to grip the situation.”
Huw Merriman MP said: "I am very sorry about the situation and am determined to see it turned around.
"Passengers on the West Coast Main Line have had a torrid time, and we owe it to them to deliver a vastly improved service.
"I am determined to play my part. I expect Avanti, the unions and everyone connected with this to join me and ensure that this line delivers once again."
