I know many constituents (as have I) have experienced a terrible service from Avanti for many months, with only one train an hour from Stoke-on-Trent which frequently end up being rammed. On top of this, you cannot book tickets in advance, which is costing people more as they have to buy on the day.
The main cause of this unreliability is due to a lack of fully trained drivers because of delays in training during the pandemic, coupled with an unofficial "strike" by drivers refusing all overtime or additional days of work, which the company had been relying upon.
This is plainly not good enough and the Minister, Kevin Foster MP, made that clear from the despatch box. Avanti have given assurances that services should improve very significantly in December, as nearly 100 newly trained drivers have now entered the service.
Avanti have been given a 6 month extension to sort this problem out (stripping them of their franchise now would not address the underlying issue, and would probably make things worse). I will continue to hold them to account on behalf of those Newcastle-under-Lyme constituents who rely on their services.