WORKINGTON MP Mark Jenkinson is calling for troubled train operator Avanti West Coast to be stripped of its contract immediately.
Following an urgent question in the House of Commons, he urged ministers to ditch the complaint-dogged company, adding that Avanti should not have been given a stay of execution in the first place.
Speaking in the House today [1st December], he asked Huw Merriman MP, Minister of State for Rail, why the Department for Transport was "delaying the inevitable".
The operator was given a six-month extension by the Department for Transport prior to its franchise expiring in October, in a move intended to give the company the chance to improve its performance.
However, Cumbrian MPs are among those receiving complains from constituents about Avanti's poor and unreliable service.
Mark Jenkinson said "The Department for Transport had placed Avanti West Coast on a short-term contract and has been urging with them to deliver the urgent improvements in services required.
"Unfortunately, this warning shot across the bow has not had the desired effect and we are continuing to see a reduction in the level of service.
"Avanti has chosen short-term cost-saving over driver training. The company were put on notice, and are continuing to fail their customers.
"Avanti should not have been given an extension on their franchise of the West Coast Mainline back in October due to their poor performance. I want to see them stripped of their contract extension at the earliest opportunity."
Avanti has seen major operational issues primarily caused by a shortage of available drivers.
Nearly 100 additional drivers will have entered formal service between April and December 2022.
