Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that began operating the West Coast Partnership franchise on 8 December 2019. It replaced Virgin Trains, which had operated the franchise since 1997. The franchise was initially scheduled to run until March 2030, operating High Speed 2 services from 2026.[1] However, in December 2020, it was announced that it will be terminated on 31 March 2026 as part of the abolition of the franchise system.[2]

Avanti West Coast
Overview
Franchise(s)West Coast Partnership
8 Dec 2019 – 31 Mar 2026
Main region(s)Greater London
South East England
West Midlands
North West England
North Wales
Scotland
Fleet size20 Class 221 Super Voyagers
56 Class 390 Pendolinos
Stations called at46
Stations operated16
Parent companyFirstGroup (70%)
Trenitalia (30%)
Reporting markVT
PredecessorVirgin Trains
Other
Websitewww.avantiwestcoast.co.uk

The franchise covers long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland, connecting six of the UK's largest cities: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million.

History

In November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that the InterCity West Coast franchise would be superseded by the West Coast Partnership (WCP), which would include operating High Speed 2 (HS2) services from 2026.[3]

The DfT required that bidders have experience in high-speed trains and infrastructure, hence all partnered with an existing high-speed operator.[4][5] In June 2017, the DfT announced that three consortia had been shortlisted to bid for the franchise:[6][7]

In December 2018 Renfe Operadora joined the MTR-led bid.[8] In April 2019, the Stagecoach-led bid was disqualified after it proposed significant changes to the commercial terms.[9]

In August 2019 the DfT awarded the franchise to the First Trenitalia consortium with Avanti West Coast to commence operations on 8 December 2019.[10][11] The Competition and Markets Authority launched a merger inquiry into the award of the franchise following a referral from the European Commission.[12][13]

Services
A vector map showing the off-peak service pattern each hour

Avanti West Coast currently operates the same services as Virgin Trains did on the West Coast Main Line. When the first phase of High Speed 2 opens, it will also operate these services.

Over the course of the franchise several timetable changes are expected to be made.[14]

As of December 2020, the intercity routes are shown below:

London - West Midlands
RoutetphCalling atStock
London Euston to Birmingham New Street[lower-alpha 1]1Watford Junction[lower-alpha 2], Rugby, Coventry and Birmingham International390
London Euston to Shrewsbury-Watford Junction (1tpd), Rugby (1tpd), Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley (1tpd), Wolverhampton, Telford Central and Wellington
2 trains per day		221
London - Manchester
RoutetphCalling atStock
London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent1Milton Keynes Central, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport
Peak time trains additionally call at one or more of: Watford Junction, Rugby, Nuneaton, Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley		390
London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe1Stafford (limited service), Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport
Peak time trains additionally call at one or more of: Watford Junction, Rugby, Nuneaton, Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley
London - Chester and North Wales
RoutetphCalling atStock
Crewe to Holyhead-Chester, Flint (4tpd), Prestatyn (4tpd), Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction and Bangor
6 trains per day to Bangor, 5 trains per day to Holyhead. 1 train per day will call additionally at Wrexham General. Some southbound trains continue to London Euston, calling at Milton Keynes Central.		 221
London - Liverpool
RoutetphCalling atStock
London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street1Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn
Peak time trains additionally call at one or more of: Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Nuneaton, Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley		 390
London - North West and Scotland
RoutetphCalling atStock
London Euston to Glasgow Central1Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District, Penrith and Carlisle
Some trains call additionally at: Lockerbie and Motherwell.		 390, 221
London Euston to Preston or Edinburgh Waverley via Birmingham New Street1Milton Keynes Central, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western;

1tp2h continue to Edinburgh Waverley calling at Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District (1tp4h), Penrith (1tp4h), Carlisle and Haymarket.
Oxenholme Lake District and Penrith are served by alternate trains.

London Euston to Blackpool North via Birmingham New Street-Milton Keynes Central, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston
2 trains per day

Future services

Future services include:

Rolling stock

Avanti West Coast commenced operations having inherited the existing Super Voyager and Pendolino fleets from Virgin Trains.

Current fleet
 Class  Image  Type   Top speed   Carriages   Number   Built   Notes 
 mph   km/h 
221 Super Voyager DEMU 125 200 5 20 2001–2002 Set numbers 221101-118 & 221142-143
To be refurbished and overhauled. They are scheduled to be replaced from 2022 by the new AT300 units.[15][16]
390/0 & 390/1 Pendolino
EMU 140 225 9 21 2001–2004 Pendolino (from Italian Pendolo) refers to tilting trains.
To be retained long-term and refurbished throughout.[17]
140 225 11 31 2001-2004 Pendolino (from Italian Pendolo) refers to tilting trains.
To be retained long-term and refurbished throughout.[17]
4 2010-2012

Future fleet

All 20 of the Class 221 Super Voyager units will be replaced by 23 new trains from the Hitachi A-train family with maintenance taking place at Alstom's Oxley TRSMD depot in Wolverhampton.[18][19] These trains are to be divided into thirteen Class 805 bi-mode multiple units and ten Class 807 electric multiple units.[20] Although the units will have the same top speed, they will not tilt like the Class 390 Pendolinos. The Class 805 units are to be used for services to Shrewsbury, Chester, Gobowen and North Wales and the Class 807 units are to be used for services to Birmingham New Street, Blackpool North and Liverpool Lime Street (alongside the Pendolinos).[17][21]

Avanti West Coast plan to operate at least 54 new trains for High Speed 2 services from 2026, but the details of these trains will not be decided for the while yet.[22]

Family Class Image Type Top speed Number Cars Routes operated Entering service
mph km/h
Hitachi AT300 805 Bi-mode multiple unit 125 200 13 5 2022
807 Electric multiple unit 125 200 10 7
TBA TBA Electric multiple unit 225 360 At least 54[22] TBA 2026

Notes
  1. The London-Scotland via Birmingham service means a total of 2tph between London Euston and Birmingham New Street
  2. Pick up only towards Birmingham, set down only towards London.

References
  1. "Avanti West Coast prepares for launch on December 8". International Railway Journal. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  2. "Two franchises abolished for good, as First and DfT agree terms | Railnews | Today's news for Tomorrow's railway". www.railnews.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  3. "New West Coast rail franchise to run HS2 services". BBC News. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  4. Lea, Robert. "Wanted: Superfast mover to partner Virgin and Stagecoach for HS2". The Times. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  5. "RENFE poised to join Virgin's HS2 franchise bid". Railway Gazette International. DVV Media Group. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  6. West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchise bidders Department for Transport 22 June 2017
  7. "Three shortlisted for West Coast Partnership franchise". Railway Gazette International. DVV Media Group. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  8. "RENFE joins MTR's West Coast Partnership bid team". Railway Gazette International 20 December 2018
  9. Stagecoach disqualified from three franchises in pension dispute Railway Gazette 10 April 2019
  10. FirstGroup and Trenitalia welcome West Coast Partnership Award FirstGroup 14 August 2019
  11. "West Coast marks new partnership model for rail" (Press release). Department for Transport. 14 August 2019.
  12. "First Rail Holdings & Trenitalia UK / West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  13. Topham, Gwyn (27 November 2019). "West coast train services to be rebranded with Avanti logo". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  14. West Coast Partnership franchise improvements map Department for Transport 14 August 2019
  15. Clinnick, Richard (13 July 2020). "A CGI impression of the refurbishment planned for AvantiWestCoast Class 221s". Twitter.
  16. Holden, Michael (13 July 2020). "Avanti West Coast sign £8.3m contract with Bombardier to overhaul Voyager trains". RailAdvent. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  17. First Trenitalia awarded West Coast Partnership Railway Gazette International 14 August 2019
  18. "Hitachi Rail chosen to build new InterCity trains for Avanti West Coast". Global Railway Review. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  19. "Inter-city rail operator's £350m new trains fleet to be built in UK". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  20. "Avanti confirms class numbers for Hitachi train order". www.railmagazine.com. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  21. "Avanti West Coast launched", Railways Illustrated, February 2020, page 6
  22. High Speed 2 rolling stock bids submitted Railway Gazette International 5 June 2019
Preceded by
Virgin Trains
InterCity West Coast franchise		 Operator of West Coast Partnership franchise
2019—2026		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.