The Department for Transport has awarded Avanti West Coast a six month extension to the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement, taking the contract up to 1 April 2023. The current agreement was due to expire on 16 October 2022.
The extension has been set to allow Avanti time to deliver its timetable recovery plan and other improvement measures to address the service issues which have arisen in recent months. A recovery in performance levels will be a key factor in determining the National Rail Contract for the route which the Government now intends to award in April 2023.