To: Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport

Bring our West Coast rail services back into public ownership

We only have a few weeks left to stop the Department for Transport awarding the failing private train company Avanti a 10-year contract to continue running services on our West Coast Main Line.

Ever since Avanti took over West Coast in December 2019, services have been appalling. Before the pandemic they had the biggest decline in passenger satisfaction of any train company in the UK.

But since Covid began, things have gone from bad to worse. Despite receiving more than £1 billion in public subsidies during this time, Avanti passengers have continued to suffer – with hundreds of delays and cancellations, yet the same extortionate fares (which rose again this March).

Meanwhile the companies that own Avanti – transport multinational FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%), Italy’s state-owned rail operator(!) – are hiving off millions of pounds in profits.

This is madness and needs to stop.

In June 2018, the Department for Transport took our East Coast Main Line back into public ownership, after the private companies running it failed. East Coast services have been successfully-run in the public interest by LNER ever since.

If our East Coast Main Line connecting London and Scotland can be run in public ownership, then our West Coast should be too.

Why is this important?

The Department for Transport is currently deciding whether to award Avanti a new 10-year contract to continue running services on our West Coast Main Line until 2032. They are due to make a final decision by 1 April 2023.

This has to be stopped.

Let’s not reward failure. Let’s make our West Coast public instead.

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References:

• 20 August 2021, 'West Coast Partnership: prior information notice', Department for Transport
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/west-coast-partnership-prior-information-notice
• 2 July 2020, 'National Rail Passenger Survey Spring 2020', Transport Focus
https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publication/national-rail-passenger-survey-nrps-spring-2020-main-report
• 21 October 2021, 'Details of operational support payments to franchised passenger rail operators under emergency agreements and National Rail Contracts', Department for Transport
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-payments-to-passenger-rail-operators-under-emergency-agreements/details-of-operational-support-payments-to-franchised-passenger-rail-operators-under-emergency-agreements
• 6 January 2022, 'Rail prices to rise by the largest amount in nearly a decade', Money Saving Expert
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/12/train-fares-rail-increase-march
• 4 January 2022, 'Rail firms gave £38m to shareholders after being bailed out by taxpayer during Covid lockdowns', Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10366385/Rail-firms-gave-38m-shareholders-bailed-taxpayer-Covid.html

How it will be delivered

We plan to hand this petition to Mark Harper MP on Monday 20 March 2023, 10am at the Department for Transport, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR

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Updates

2023-03-20 16:02:44 +0000

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FrqU2NAWYAM58-l?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

This morning the Department for Transport announced they were extending Avanti's contract (again!) by another 6 months until 15 October 2023.

We organised our Kick First Out! Avanti & TransPennine Passenger Rally outside their building in London and submitted this petition to Transport Secretary Mark Harper MP, then signed by 13,765 people.

We will continue to collect signatures over the next 6 months to keep the pressure up to Make West Coast Public.

2023-03-09 14:35:39 +0000

Avanti's contract is due to expire at the end of this month, so we are ramping up the pressure to Make West Coast Public.

We're planning to hand-in our petition to Transport Secretary Mark Harper MP on Monday 20 March 2023, 10am as part of the Kick First Out! Avanti & TransPennine Passenger Rally at the Department for Transport in London.

Please come and join us and help spread the word by sharing details on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2022-10-07 09:36:31 +0100

On 7 October 2022, the Department for Transport announced that they had awarded a 6-month contract extension to Avanti West Coast and told them to "drastically improve services".

This is not great news. But it could be worse. It gives us until 1 April 2023 to really step-up our campaign to Make West Coast Public. Please continue to sign and share our petition on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2022-09-07 19:15:01 +0100

10,000 signatures reached

2022-09-06 18:24:34 +0100

The crisis on Avanti West Coast is escalating.

On 14 August 2022, Avanti West Coast - part-owned by FirstGroup and Trenitalia (Italy's state-owned rail operator!) - drastically reduced the timetable on our West Coast Main Line, causing misery for millions of travellers over the last month.

Meanwhile, on 4 September it was reported that the Department for Transport (DfT) is still planning to renew Avanti's contract (which expires on 16 October) for another 10-years. This must be stopped.

Today our lawyers have written to the DfT to demand they act urgently to bring our West Coast Main Line back into public ownership (like LNER, Northern and Southeastern already are).

2022-03-30 18:53:02 +0100

5,000 signatures reached

2022-02-21 10:56:43 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2022-02-21 10:33:00 +0000

500 signatures reached

2022-02-20 22:10:54 +0000

100 signatures reached

2022-02-20 21:01:47 +0000

50 signatures reached

2022-02-20 20:37:02 +0000

25 signatures reached

2022-02-20 20:24:58 +0000

10 signatures reached