Avanti West Coast news
News about Avanti West Coast, which operates inter-city passenger train services on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales and Glasgow.
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Rail Business UKHow to refurbish a Pendolino in 10 days
UK: The £120m refurbishment of Avanti West Coast’s 56 Class 390 Pendolino trainsets is on course for completion by next June year, in what Alstom says is the largest programme of its kind in the UK. Nick Kingsley reports from Widnes.
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Rail Business UKNational Rail Contract aims to enable Avanti West Coast to plan ahead
UK: The Department for Transport has awarded the Avanti West Coast joint venture of FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia UK (30%) a further National Rail Contract to continue to operate West Coast Main Line inter-city passenger services from the expiry of its current agreement on October 15. ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast launches real-time interactive train map
UK: Technology company Signalbox has developed a customised interactive live map for Avanti West Coast’s website which enables passengers to track their train in real-time. This builds on Signalbox’s technology which tracks and maps National Rail trains. Users can follow the service on which they are ...
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Rail Business UKInterview: ‘You can’t innovate as a monopolist’
UK: Avanti West Coast and c2c parent Trenitalia is ready to make significant investment in Britain’s railways, mirroring its recent expansion in Spain. But this is contingent on the government relaxing its grip on the industry, the company’s UK Managing Director Ernesto Sicilia explains to Nick Kingsley and Sophie Burton.
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast contract extended and Managing Director appointed
UK: Avanti West Coast must continue to regain the confidence of passengers before decisions on its future are made, the Department for Transport said when it announced a six-month extension of the inter-city operator’s contract. The West Coast Partnership contract covers the operation of inter-city services ...
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Rail Business UKSuperfare ticket trials aims to attract flexible travellers to rail
UK: Avanti West Coast is trialling a low-price Superfare ticket, aimed at people who can be more flexible with their journeys and who would not normally opt to travel by train. Superfare prices London – Birmingham £12 London – ...
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Rail Business UKCustom carpets keeps luggage out of train wheelchair spaces
UK: Wool from more than 30 000 sheep is being used by Axminster Carpets to produce over 20 000 m2 of floor coverings for the refurbishment of the Avanti West Coast Pendolino fleet. The two-year contract to supply carpets for the £117m refurbishment of the 56 ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast launches instant accessibility help channel
UK: Avanti West Coast has launched a WhatsApp channel providing instant access to specialist support for passengers with disabilities. Travel Companion is staffed by members of the inter-city operator’s social media team who have ‘passion and empathy for accessibility’, as well as specialist knowledge. AWC said ...
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Rail Business UKWest Coast Main Line electro-diesels on test
UK: The first two of 13 Hitachi Class 805 electro-diesel trainsets ordered for Avanti West Coast services are undergoing testing on the West Coast Main Line ahead of entry into service later this year. This follows two months of dynamic testing at Network Rail’s Rail Innovation ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast submits revised recovery plan
UK: Inter-City West Coast operator Avanti West Coast has submitted a revised timetable production recovery plan to the Office of Rail & Road. The regulator had sought changes after the operator’s initial improvements had stalled with weekend timetables being finalised just a few days in advance. ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast required to produce improved timetable recovery plan
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has told Avanti West Coast to submit an improved timetable production recovery plan by February 2. The regulator said Avanti had initially made reasonable progress against its September 2022 recovery plan, but the position had deteriorated in 2023 with ...
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Rail Business UKMcLoughlin berates government over northern rail failures as disruption set to worsen
UK: TfN Chair Lord Patrick McLoughlin has described the ongoing rail disruption on routes within and to and from northern England as ‘unacceptable’.
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Rail Business UKNorthern mayors shift rail disruption blame from operators to ministers
UK: The Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region mayors have moved away from directly blaming train operators for the ongoing disruption to services in the northwest of England, instead saying the Department for Transport’s tight control of finances is preventing deals between operators and their staff. ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast contract extended pending decisions on the longer term
UK: The current West Coast Partnership contractual arrangements for Avanti West Coast to operate inter-city passenger services on the West Coast Main Line and act as shadow operator for High Speed 2 have been extended until the end of March 2023. The AWC joint venture of ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast starts to restore timetable
UK: Having slashed its timetable to a basic four trains an hour in August as a result of driver unavailability, Avanti West Coast confirmed in late September that it will begin increasing its services again.
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast hires train to boost capacity during period of mourning
UK: With its drivers continuing to decline to work on their rest days, Avanti West Coast has worked with charter operator Locomotive Services Ltd to provided additional capacity into London Euston to support the large number of people wishing to visit the capital to pay their ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast Managing Director to leave
UK: Phil Whittingham is to step down as Managing Director of Avanti West Coast with effect from September 15 ‘in order to pursue other executive leadership opportunities’, the West Coast Main Line inter-city passenger operator’s parent company First Trenitalia announced on September 2. Whittingham joined Virgin ...
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Rail Business UKControversy as Avanti West Coast announces timetable cuts
UK: Avanti West Coast has triggered considerable anger amongst trade unions with its use of the phrase ‘unofficial strike action’ to describe the refusal of staff to work on their rest days.
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Rail Business UKManaging Director of West Coast Partnership Development appointed
UK: Shamit Gaiger has been appointed Managing Director of FirstGroup/Trenitalia’s High Speed 2 shadow operator West Coast Partnership Development, and is to join the business on July 25. Gaiger led AECOM’s Advisory Europe team, and has held roles at RSSB. She was Director of Strategy at ...
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Rail Business UKRefurbished Pendolino returns to service with more seats and an updated interior
UK: Avanti West Coast has returned to service the first of its 56 Pendolino trainsets to be modernised in a £117m refurbishment programme.