More rail strikes on the way as union leaders say Avanti West Coast workers will walk out on two days in the coming weeks
13 October 2022, 20:14
Further rail strikes have been announced as union bosses say Avanti West Coast workers will strike on two days in the coming weeks.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members who are train managers working on Avanti West Coast will walk out on October 22 and November 6 in a dispute over rosters.
This dispute is said to be separate from rows over pay, jobs and conditions across the railway industry which has resulted in a series of strikes this year.
It's understood rosters were brought in earlier this year in order to help improve the resilience of the firm's services and further consultation is taking place rosters for December.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Avanti are one of the worst operators we have ever tried to negotiate with, Mail Online reported.
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"They have treated our members appallingly and this strike action is the culmination of months of neglect and a strong response to the arrogance bosses have shown.
"Avanti should never have been given any extension to their franchise contract for all the chaos they have caused passengers, and their contempt of their staff is part and parcel of their disastrous approach.'
A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: "We're disappointed by the RMT's decision to go on strike in the coming weeks which we think is premature.
"This is completely unfair on our customers who will again bear the brunt of more unnecessary disruption to their plans.
"We would urge the RMT to reconsider this course of action and work with us to resolve this dispute.'
Last week it emerged that Avanti West Coast has been put on a short-term contract renewal by the Government after it provided rail users with an 'unacceptable' service.
The operator has been given until April 1 2023 to improve its services after a reduction of its trains, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.
On August 14, the firm reduced its timetable seven to a minimum of four trains per hour.
This involved having just a once-an-hour service in each direction between Manchester and London in addition to extra services at the busiest times.
Before the pandemic, the route had three trains an hour before the and prior to the altered timetable had two services an hour with some extra trains.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham had written to the Transport Secretary urging the train company to have its contract taken away unless the cancelled services returned soon before the government announcement.
Mr Burnham praised the Government for its intervening but warned he's "hugely concerned" about the firm's "failing service" continuing for a further six months.
He said: "Putting Avanti West Coast on notice marks a significant shift in tone under the new secretary of state.
"At last, there is a clear recognition of the crisis engulfing the country's most important railway line and the management failure that has led to that.
"However, the lack of an acceptable rescue plan from the company - and clear conditions from the Government - means very few people in Greater Manchester will support this extension.'
Mr Burnham added: "The damage that Avanti's failing service is inflicting on our economy, and the huge disruption to passengers, is completely unacceptable.
"The company has shown itself to be unable to stabilise their service and fix problems with ticketing and the on-board experience for passengers.
"The thought of another six months of what we're currently experiencing is a huge concern.'
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "We need train services which are reliable and resilient to modern day life.
"Services on Avanti have been unacceptable and while the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers.
"We have agreed a six-month extension to Avanti to assess whether it is capable of running this crucial route to a standard passengers deserve and expect.'
Avanti West Coast said in a statement: "We are already delivering on our commitment to increase the number of services we are running between Manchester and London, with three or four trains an hour departing Manchester Piccadilly at the key times of the day.
"We remain focused on providing a reliable train service for our customers and restoring a full timetable of three trains an hour all day between London and Manchester in December.
"Our revised timetable, with no reliance on overtime, is also proving more reliable - in the last week we have run 300 trains between London and Manchester with approximately one in 30 of them cancelled mainly because of short-notice sickness.
"That compares with one out of 13 trains cancelled back in mid-July.
"Nevertheless, we know that at the moment we're not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this is causing.
"We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding."
