Avanti West Coast to cut services in lead up to Christmas and in January
In an internal staff briefing, Avanti West Coast has said it is to cut services on the Birmingham, Liverpool and Crewe routes on Monday to Thursday between 7-23 December and 4-7 January. The train operator says that the cuts will “deliver better value for the taxpayer” and “continue meeting customer demand” while allowing it to “focus resources where customers need them most”.
If demand is higher than expected, Avanti says “Customer loading will be reviewed every week throughout the period” and “If demand increases and there is a risk of overcrowding, services can be added back into the timetable.”
Avanti claims that lessons have been learnt from the summer timetable changes, where a number of services were cut during the peak holiday period, saying “We listened to feedback from colleagues, customers and stakeholders”.
Services being withdrawn are as follows.
Liverpool route:
07.07 Liverpool to Euston.
11.08 Liverpool to Euston.
13.08 Liverpool to Euston.
16.08 Liverpool to Euston.
18.08 Liverpool to Euston.
08.07 Euston to Liverpool.
10.07 Euston to Liverpool.
16.07 Euston to Liverpool.
20.07 Euston to Liverpool.
Crewe route:
12.05 Euston to Crewe.
15.29 Crewe to Euston.
Birmingham route:
09.21 Birmingham to Euston.
11.21 Birmingham to Euston.
13.21 Birmingham to Euston.
17.21 Birmingham to Euston.
09.16 Euston to Birmingham.
11.16 Euston to Birmingham.
13.16 Euston to Birmingham.
15.16 Euston to Birmingham.
09.16 Euston to Wolverhampton.
Amended services that will call additionally at Rugby:
06.52 Edinburgh to Euston.
07.00 Lancaster to Euston.
08.53 Edinburgh to Euston.
10.52 Edinburgh to Euston.
12.52 Edinburgh to Euston.
09.36 Euston to Glasgow.
11.36 Euston to Glasgow.
20.36 Euston to Glasgow.
Avanti says that there will be no reduction in services to Scotland, Wales and Manchester.