Liverpool to London train operator Avanti West Coast will reduce services over the summer after being asked by the Government to reduce costs. Tony McDonough reports
Avanti West Coast will cut one-in-seven of its rail services for a period this summer in a cash-saving move.
Each day the company operates almost 250 services linking Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham with London Euston. This is to be reduced by 28 each day for six weeks from July 20 following a request from the Government to reduce costs.
Services being cancelled during the period will be those where demand is lower. Business traffic in particular tends to be lower in the summer when many people take time off for holidays.
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “From July 20 to August 28 we will be operating an amended timetable between London and Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester on weekdays.
“To ensure minimal impact to those travelling between the affected dates, these changes will only affect routes on which we operate more than one train per hour – during typically less busy periods of the day – maximising alternative journey options.
“We’d like to encourage customers planning to make journeys during this time to plan ahead, and thank them for their understanding.”
Affected services are being removed from online ticketing services before becoming available for purchase.
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This request to reduce costs came from the Department for Transport (DfT). A DfT spokesperson added: “This will save taxpayers money while still meeting passenger demand for seats.
“The Secretary of State has accepted Avanti’s short-term proposals to amend its weekday summer timetable, when passenger numbers are considerably lower and many trains run with large numbers of empty seats.”
Avanti West Coast is a joint venture between FirstGroup (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia (30%).