Avanti West Coast says ‘unofficial strike action’ by drivers has forced it to slash timetable and suspend ticket sales because of ‘severe’ staff shortages

• Avanti West Coast will be operating a reduced timetable from Sunday 
• The train operator claims ‘unofficial strike action’ is to blame for the disruption
• Union Aslef have previously hit out at Avanti, saying this is ‘categorically untrue’ 
• As few as four trains will run per hour on the West Coast Main Line

A train operator has slashed its timetables and suspended ticket sales due to staff shortages caused by ‘unofficial strike action’.

Avanti West Coast said it will run as few as four trains per hour from Sunday in an attempt to halt the short-notice cancellations which have plagued its operations in recent weeks.

However Aslef train drivers’ union previously criticised Avanti for blaming disruption on strikes, claiming that the company had instead not employed enough staff.

Avanti normally operates up to seven trains per hour on the West Coast Main Line but the reduced timetable could see this reduced by almost half.

Services between London Euston and Manchester appear to be the worst affected by the cut, with train frequencies reduced from three per hour to just one.

As few as four services per hour will run on the West Coast Main Line from Sunday as a reduced timeline is introduced to give passengers a more ‘reliable service’ amid staff shortages and ‘unofficial strike action’

The limited timetable will be in place ‘until further notice’, Avanti West Coast said.

The company has also suspended ticket sales for travel from Sunday until September 11 while the new schedule is finalised to minimise the number of people disrupted.

It expects tickets for the first week of that period to be back on sale by the end of this week.

Tickets for the following weeks will be released on a rolling, weekly basis.

In a letter to the rail industry, Avanti West Coast managing director Phil Whittingham wrote that the ‘current industrial relations climate’ has resulted in ‘severe staff shortages in some grades through increased sickness levels, as well as unofficial strike action by Aslef members’.

He said that the operator normally ran around 400 trains per week with drivers voluntarily working on their rest days – for extra pay – but that has ‘dropped suddenly to fewer than 50’.

Services between London Euston and Manchester appear to be the worst affected by the cuts, going from three trains per hour to just one

Mr Whittingham wrote that the previous level of rest day working is ‘necessary’ while more than 250 new drivers are recruited and trained.

But last month, Aslef slammed the train operator over the ‘categorically untrue’ claim there was ongoing unofficial strike action.

A spokesperson said: ‘The truth is the company (Avanti West Coast) does not employ enough drivers to deliver the services it has promised,’ the BBC reported.

Drivers at a number of companies often work rest days, despite this being voluntary, and Aslef said the train operators depend on this.  

Mr Whittingham said: ‘The reduced timetable is being introduced to ensure a reliable service is delivered so our customers can travel with greater certainty.

‘This decision was not taken lightly, and we are sorry for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this will cause.’ 

Passengers who have already bought Avanti West Coast tickets for trains that are removed from the timetable will be able to travel on the service before or after their booked train.

If they no longer want to travel they can claim a full, fee-free refund from the point of purchase.

Aslef train drivers’ union previously critcised Avanti for claiming there was ongoing unofficial strike action by drivers, saying this was ‘categorically untrue’ and that the disruption had been caused by the train company not employing enough staff

Mr Whittingham urged rail unions to ‘engage in meaningful industry reform talks around modernising working practices and developing a railway fit for the 21st century’.

He added that the industry ‘remains open for talks at any time’.

Aslef has insisted that its members at Avanti West Coast are not involved in strike action before a walkout on Saturday in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Drivers at eight other train companies will also strike on Saturday.

They are CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains.

Source: Read Full Article