Business leaders are organising an emergency summit to consider solutions to cancellations on the North Wales to London rail line they say are ‘stifling’ the regional economy.
Research by the North Wales Business Council suggested the route, operated by Avanti West Coast, has suffered more on-the-day cancellations than any other part of the Avanti network. The council said that between April and June the percentage of cancellations rose from 8.2% to 21.7%, compared to Avanti’s route in the West Midlands which had a cancellation rate of 3.6% in June.
The Business Council’s Chief Executive, Ashley Rogers, is now organising an emergency summit of the region’s politicians, company bosses and other stakeholders. He is also calling on Welsh Government to help, as well as writing to Virgin Group.
The Virgin Group has already applied to the Office of Rail and Road for Open Access rail paths for four other services on the West Coast line. If granted it would allow Virgin as a non-franchised train operator to run services on the rail network over and above the ones operated by current franchise holders like Avanti.
The Business Council is hoping to persuade Virgin to add the North Wales-London route to its wish list.
Among those supporting the Business Council’s calls for help are Sean Taylor, the founder and president of Zip World, Adam Williams, owner of Llandudno Pier, Tir Prince Raceway in Kinmel Bay and a string of holiday parks and amusement arcades, and celebrity chef Bryn Williams, who runs the award-winning Porth Eirias restaurant in Colwyn Bay and will be opening a new eaterie at the redeveloped Theatr Clwyd in Mold.
Ashley Rogers said:
“The fact that more than a fifth of the trains are cancelled on the day is staggeringly bad. It is totally unacceptable that North Wales is being cut off from reliable access to London on public transport because it is absolutely vital in terms of business, research and innovation and tourism.
“This is having a fundamental negative impact on how businesses operate and is reducing our access to markets and hitting our competitiveness as a region at a time when the economy badly needs growth. We desperately need other operators to come in and provide a reliable service to London for North Wales, filling the ever-widening gaps in the current services from Avanti.
“With that in mind we are writing to Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Welsh Government for help, potentially looking for new open access services to and from London. The Business Council will also look to organise an emergency summit with key business and political stakeholders, to drive support for a solution.”
Sean Taylor said:
“Myself and Zip World employees regularly use the Avanti service from Llandudno Junction to Euston service and we are faced with third world conditions which include cancelled or late services, a regular lack of food and beverage service and disgruntled employees.
“The service has caused me personal embarrassment through missed or late appointments – it’s a thoroughly unsatisfactory situation which is stifling the North Wales economy.”
Adam Williams added:
“Frustratingly, it’s clear the train service provided by Avanti has been going downhill for some time. It’s shocking.
“We had a clear illustration of how bad things are a few months ago when we were operating at the ExCeL international exhibition centre in London – because the trains were so unreliable we had to drive the staff there and back at the shift changes.
“By having such a poor service we are sending out the message that people who want to come should drive here in their cars at a time when we should be wanting to take cars off the road.
“It’s hugely important that the Business Council is banging the drum on our behalf and championing the call for improved rail services. Bring on Richard Branson.”
Meanwhile, Bryn Williams said:
“North Wales deserves so much better and needs a regular and reliable service because that’s essential for the regional economy, whether that’s for the ordinary travelling public, business travel or visitors to the area.”
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said:
“Avanti West Coast is fully committed to serving North Wales and is working hard to address the fundamental issues regarding performance as well as continuing to invest in a better service.
“The introduction of our new Evero train represents an exciting new chapter for the region, with more seats and a much greener operation, given the train’s ability to run on electric power between London and Crewe.
“However, there is still day-to-day variation in our service performance, something we need to address to consistently deliver the service our customers in North Wales deserve. We’re continuing to work with industry partners to improve punctuality and reliability across all our services.”
The company said that performance on the North Wales route in the last few months had been impacted by the additional training required to launch the new Evero fleet.
