Avanti West Coast - Truly Britain's worst train operating company?

[@Vanmanyo]

Thanks for all the support! I've hit 1000 subscribers - 400 in just a week! That means a lot - thank you! Do consider subscribing or checking out my other documentary-style videos :)

[@mylesm12923]

Giving the contract to them instead of Virgin Trains was a catastrophic decision. Prices went up immediately afterwards. Service has been atrocious since.

[@aiden_lovestransport]

I agree

[@aiden_lovestransport]

There is rumors about Virgin Trains making a return later this year I just hope it's true

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Avanti is certainly up there with Trans-Pennine and Northern. Why on Earth do we persevere with the current franchise structure? If they cannot perform up to the standard required by the franchise contract then they should be taken over by the government and re-nationalised. It’s not the panacea for all of UK rail’s ills and, let’s face it, the present government couldn’t organise an orgy in a knocking shop. But when poor performance is tolerated (and some might say rewarded) and profit maximisation becomes the god, then it’s time for change. Few would argue that BR functioned superbly, but at least its main objective was public service rather than profit.

[@sprinterofficial8457]

Transpennine I agree are atrocious in every way northern however are a huge hit and miss, it seems they get better the further north you go However they have a huge franchise to operate (ex Northern spirit and Arriva trains northern all in one)

[@cjmillsnun]

BR by privatisation weren't that bad. Network Southeast in particular seeing massive improvement thanks to their total route modernisation programme. Had Privatisation not happened, I think the WCML would've been next to see improvement. That said, Virgin did a decent job with the West Coast. As far as the current structure goes, it's all now management contracts only rather than true franchising with some operators, (SouthEastern, LNER, Northern and TPE being run by the Operator of last resport) and others (ScotRail, TfW, Caledonian Sleeper, Elizabeth Line and London Overground) being run by devolved governments or are contracted services overseen by TfL.

[@justwobert9850]

because the government likes first

[@AlvinOfficial-UK]

You do know Transpennine and Northern are operated by the government. Avanti is also now a management contract so government has full say in what happens day to day with Avanti.

[@karenblackadder1183]

I do a lot of travelling on Northern. Now that they are free of Arrival, they provide a good service. Wouldn't trust Avanti to run a bath, never mind a railway!! Virgin Trains were brilliant. Used to often travel to Glasgow once, not anymore. Don't even get me started on the appalling service from TransPennine!!!

[@sonadagothalus]

We can all agree the franchise model has failed, the whole system is designed to bleed money from Network Rail for engineering works and does little to ensure staff are load balanced. Back in the BR days you had different grades and routes and they would never allow a route to have no drivers through them all leaving to sign another route for a few extra quid.

[@nervousnellyterencemorton]

My friend Ian named this company Ashitey. Very apt, given services are continually late, cancelled or delayed. If I wish to travel Carlisle to London I am safer travelling to Newcastle and then using the ECML how sad is that!

[@Glenn1967ful]

I can remember using the WCML in British Rail days and it could be hit and miss. You could go from Carlisle to London in four hours in the eighties, which was perfectly acceptable then, but often there were delays of 10 to 20 minutes, although cancellations were rare. Also some of the staff could be miserable, particularly on the stations. Catering again varied: stewed tea and miserable looking sandwiches were common, but there was a full restaurant car on peak time services and the meals were acceptable. Main benefit was the much simpler fare structure: first, second and advanced and no restrictions on travel. While we grumbled at the time, £ 30 advance return from Carlisle to London in 1988 with no restrictions on travel is a lot cheaper than the £149 off peak return that's most common now with all its restrictions. ( I know you can book really cheap tickets months in advance, but often this isn't an option and they sell out).

[@Vanmanyo]

There's definitely a debate about whether BR is better than TOCs. The fares just by themselves might swing people over to the BR argument - £33 is incredible! Hope you enjoyed!

[@Glenn1967ful]

@@Vanmanyo Hello, it was £30 advance, £33 from Whitehaven. Good video and Avanti is unfortunately the TOC round here. Used Virgin four times and was quite impressed: trains on time, clean, pleasant staff, fares high but not as bad as Avant, and Carlisle to London in 3h15m

[@jörgschimmelpfennig-m8h]

Avanti is the poorest long-distance ever since the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s and it's management practices have become a textbook example to be used when telling students how NOT to manage any company. Having said that though, responsibility rests with government alone, first for disqualifying Virgin Trains' bid on, let's say rather arbitrarily looking grounds - or should I say some government ministers may have earned themselves some nice complimentary holidays? - and second for having rewarding Avanti for their ridiculous performance not just once but twice instead of stripping them of the franchise with immediate effect.

[@katashworth41]

As someone who frequently uses them, I think I prefer Northern. That’s saying a lot, as if I have the time I prefer to get the bus to the lakes (from Preston) as it’s far cheaper. Takes longer but is more reliable. Also weirdly I happened to be going down to London the day Avanti took over, they gave out panettone on Preston station.

[@Vanmanyo]

Prefer Northern??? You brave brave sole!

[@cjatruckphotos]

@@Vanmanyoto be honest i prefer northern over Transpennine Express. I live in North Yorkshire between the ECML and the Tees Valley Line, my towns station only has TPE services but the next station up just over the river in County Durham has Northern services. I will often get the bus up there and get the more frequent and often more reliable northern service instead of trying to get the Transpennine service that runs one train per hour. Yes the trains that TPE run here are much nicer than the trains ran by Northern but the prices and reliability puts me off using them unless i have no other option.

[@JulianShagworthy]

Avanti have done a brilliant job at turning things around in the last 18 months. Given the impact of the pandemic, and the sheer passenger numbers they move, I doubt VT would have fared much better under the circumstances. Reducing their cancellation numbers as much as they have is honestly a huge achievement in such a short span of time.

[@matthewshave7491]

Bloody hell! You really are living in a fantasy land if you think Avanti have done a brilliant job. I've used them twice and both times the train was cancelled - once at Preston, the second at Euston and have vowed never to use them again. Just to give some context, Virgin Train only cancelled an average of 9 trains per day in 2019. From September to December 2023, Avanti cancelled an average of 34 a day. Try travelling with them yourself and see how far you get!

[@JamesaSW5]

Well researched. Most informative. Yes to a video on Virgin Trains (VT) please. VT much missed.

[@Vanmanyo]

I have a series currently out (and ih thew process of being made) regarding the class 390/Virgin, so stay tuned!

[@ccityplanner1217]

The passenger experience at AWC's managed stations has become a lot less consistent since the end of Virgin: Lancashire stations are still up to standard, but Coventry is a bit sleazy & Crewe is a downright diabolical place to get off a train with gateline staff who treat you like a criminal.

[@beanie.royalstar]

Another great informitive video, yes please to the options of pendolino's and virgin style docs up soon, both would be great, well done for taking the feedback about the time between segments, certainly flows nicer when watching. keep up the geat work and thanks for these.

[@Vanmanyo]

Thank you! I have started my pendolino series too so if you would like to check that then feel free! Glad I am improving video by video 😆

[@nowapproachingyt]

Well, personally I believe there have been more royal cock ups in the past, such as Arriva Rail North, and First’s TPE ownership as a whole. I do agree with you, however, that AWC is severely below average. Although the new refurbishment of the 390s look amazing, it’s worsened by the overcrowding which isn’t helped by the trains themselves being incredibly tight.

[@poopoodealer8975]

"well i personally"🤓☝

[@nowapproachingyt]

@@poopoodealer8975 thank you for providing me with such an in-depth review of my comment on TransPennine express. May you politely fuck off now. Bye 👋

[@noahbowie5985]

I think Avanti gets a lot more criticism due to how important their role is in the country. They operate some of the most important services in the country. Avanti are singlehandedly responsible for all services linking Liverpool and Manchester with London as well as the vast majority of services linking Glasgow. Hence when they do such a poor job of actually running these services, they are impacting huge numbers of people. As someone who uses Avanti regularly between Manchester and London their new refurbished class 390s are lovely on the inside. But what difference does it make when you're standing in the aisle as a result of Avanti cancelling yet another train?

[@nowapproachingyt]

@@noahbowie5985 yes, you’re not wrong about that, yet I believe TPE has just an important role of being more of a local connector, as it’s the only operator that actually goes across the Pennines now.

[@karenblackadder1183]

​@@noahbowie5985Avanti couldn't run a bath.

[@Spacebug111]

First just needs to stop running train services

[@oliver.42]

Hull Trains is good tbh

[@True_NOON]

Bc no one travels to hull

[@Spacebug111]

me watching the 3 people that actually go to hull from anywhere south say its good

[@mrvwbug4423]

First Group just needs to go away period. They've had a presence in the US too and over here their reverse midas touch is even worse. They bought Greyhound bus service back in the 2010s and turned it from bad into "literally worse than buses in the 3rd world, probably the worst bus service in the world", then sold it off to Flixbus who's done nothing to improve things.

[@Bungle-UK]

Just ignoring that it’s open access operators are hugely successful.

[@Axolotl-25]

I’m staying in Colwyn Bay, and today, and i needed an avanti west coast train to crewe. I had the tickets ready, and guess what? *cancelled* That meant that i had to take transport for wales instead, so i had to change at chester, which i didnt want to do; thats why i chose AWC. But obviously, it had to go wrong ._. Virgin shoulda won

[@conallplatts5244]

As someone who has to use Avanti, they arent all that bad. The only issue I had with them was when they cancelled 4 trains to London via New Street in a row. Apart from that, the trains themselves havent been that bad, and they havent been heavily delayed apart from 1 time when the train was delayed by 55 minutes, but not on their part, due to a points failure at Lancaster. So unless they have gotten worse in 5 weeks, I dont think they're anywhere near the same league as TPE and Northern

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

Enjoyed this one, thanks. Your voice makes easy listening too.

[@Vanmanyo]

Thank you I appreciate it :D

[@melbutterworth7976]

as a wcml local i like them. sure reliability isn't great but their staff are fantastic amd first class is unmatched

[@Vanmanyo]

I think you might be the first person to say something positive about them - but I do agree with those points! I did first class to Carlisle and it was absolutely amazing!

[@darksars3622]

Fun fact the class 805 allegedly broke down 11 times during the first day of its test runs

[@crazyRBLX11]

Wow. And we're supposed to be getting those Class 805s in my area.

[@darksars3622]

@@crazyRBLX11 God help us

[@pineappleroad]

I’m glad I will never have to travel on one of their trains (the only time I’ve ever seen their trains was when I travelled from Newcastle to Carlisle and back) Although the number of times I’ve been in Newcastle station and heard announcements about trans-pennine cancellations makes me wonder how they compare (At least I’ve got a choice of multiple train operators for getting to Edinburgh if I ever do end up travelling there)

[@Vanmanyo]

You're lucky! People sadly rely on Avanti so I think you're pretty fortunate 😅 Hope you liked the video

[@user-yf4gx9lw6c]

I have to travel on the WCML to get home. For the price of an Avanti Ticket is just doesn’t hold up. I always look forward to changing to the part of the journey where to change to London Northwestern. Much cheaper with a much more comfortable ride.

[@thatbritishmallard]

I was nine hours late into Euston one with Avanti in August 2022. Five trains out of Glasgow cancelled, overcrowding, and then a 90-minute wait at Crewe. I still think they are the worst TOC in Britain, two years later.

[@joj.]

Avanti: *runs the worst franchise service in the UK* Also Avanti: "Yo guys the government just prints us free money don't worry lmao" I love that our system incentivises this kind of behaviour from TOCs.

[@Vanmanyo]

I saw that article yesterday - absolute joke

[@Mgameing123]

It doesn't. It's just corruption within the government that fucking over railways.

[@maidenhead7760]

Great video! You should do GWR next if you have enough footage that is

[@Vanmanyo]

Thank you! I would like to do a video on every operator one day but I probably wouldn't have enough footage for GWR sadly (plus i'm not sure what topic I would do it on!)

[@KyTheDino]

​@@Vanmanyo why they're ridiculously expensive? Or possibly the very rich history of GWR

[@nathanw9770]

​@@Vanmanyo Since they are also owned by First they face the same problems as Avanti so you could do a similar video for GWR. You could also talk about how the weather in the South West affects their services and how their IETs are very underwhelming.

[@sean65xjrurwin61]

The ECML runs with LNER trains which have been brought back into public "British" ownership. Their approval ratings for quality of service and punctuality are at an all time high for customer satisfaction... Private train operators have a priority for profit, not service. Thanks to the Tories belief in everything privately owned, we are stuck with some of the worst rail services in Europe.

[@Vanmanyo]

Yes LNER are pretty good, except for their recent announcement of off peak ticket replacements with flexible advanced tickets, which are far worse..

[@Bungle-UK]

Another person who doesn’t know what they are talking about….profit is capped as operators like Avanti are paid a fixed fee to operate services with all revenue going to government.

[@sean65xjrurwin61]

Private operators should not be paid a fixed, or any other type of "fee" from the Taxpayer. Public money should not line private pockets.

[@lewismelrose4334]

They simply dont run enough trains for the amount of passengers. One cancellation can lead to so many issues. I Used them once to get from London to Birmingham. There were a few cancellations that day but passengers stood all the way. And I was very lucky somebody vacated my reserved seat. I would quite happily not use them again.

[@neilburns8869]

Those who made the decisions surrounding the West Coast mainline franchise have a lot to answer for. Barring Virgin Trains from bidding for a service that they had been running quite successfully for 22 years just seems like one of the biggest mistakes ever made and clearly wasn't really made by consulting the regular everyday passengers or those who actually know anything about running a national train service. Most reasonably minded staff who still work on the West Coast mainline, be it on the trains or at the stations wil tell you that Virgin are most definitely missed. The biggest difference between Virgin and most other train operators was that they actually cared. Nobody or company is completely faultless, that's just unrealistic and absurd but Virgin were committed to the betterment of their staff, their service and the public as a whole.

[@nikhilsolanki883]

I quite like Avanti, travelled to BNS quite a few times last year with them and thankfully had no issues. Their trains look smarter than some others. But have to say trains out of Euston can be problematic at the best of times due to various issues on the lines going out of there. Good video.

[@cjmillsnun]

Barnes (BNS) is run by South Western Railway. I think you mean BHM (New Street)

[@nikhilsolanki883]

@@cjmillsnun Yup meant New Street

[@karenblackadder1183]

Try living in the North of England. You'll soon change your tune.

[@AlexanderBrassington]

Personally it would have to be crosscountry. Ill admit I dont travel on Avanti though. At least Avanti have actually refurbished their trains and have trains that are long enough for the demand. Plus from what I've seen they seem to have better first class. I get your point about cancellations though. At least crosscountry can run the trains

[@pkscarr]

went to london and back on Avanti last week. train down, 45 minutes late. train back up, cut from a 10-car to a 5-car so massively packed and lost our seat reservations as they were in a missing coach. had to stand for the whole 4 hours. not impressed.

[@Vanmanyo]

Ouch! Sounds pretty bad! Hopefully you claimed delay repay and got your deserved repayments! Hope you enjoyed the video!

[@laszlopunaflex6625]

A genuinely awful TOC. Absolutely useless. Enjoying your channel, keep it up mate.

[@Vanmanyo]

Sure are! Thanks a lot, I appreciate it :D

[@darksars3622]

The class 90 sets got replaced by the 390s and ever since then they've always been there to help when ever there a derailment or a goverment c**k up thought out history of the wcml every single time, its one of the most ironc things in BR histroy when you think about it.

[@elijah_trains]

It’s not because of the train itself it’s just avanti west coast making decisions and so fourth

[@FozzQuaker]

I took avanti west coast from Carlisle to Motherwell recently, and it left me feeling sick, the twists and turns were terrible

[@ILIKERUGBYWIRE]

Rip Virgin Trains

[@julianhweatherall2253]

The guy at the DFT you can blame is Peter Wilkinson, Poacher turned Game Keeper… you will find him on line…

[@devasurfer]

I live in Chester. Since the change to Avanti endless services are cancelled last minute or run late. Truly the worst operator in the UK. The government doesn't care a less!

[@RicciChoi1109]

IMO it's much better to take a coach trip or even the BA flight if you need to travel between London and Manchester.

[@darrenmitchell5262]

This is why privatisation was the worst thing to happen. Privatisation hasn’t worked for the passenger and has created a lot more problems and chaos.

[@KennySC]

And for some reason Avanti have made advertisements. Not sure how they expect the advert to improve people's impression on them. My experience with Avanti isn't bad but I can agree, if you're commuting every day you want your train to be ontime all the time.

[@mrvwbug4423]

I'd think someone commuting daily on the WCML would probably use LNWR, simply for price. Avanti is one of the most expensive trains in Europe.

[@Mgameing123]

@@mrvwbug4423 City of London workers have money.

[@nathanw9770]

One of Chilterns old advertisements was 'Still a virgin', if Avanti used a slogan like that I'd ride with them lol.

[@gb9727]

Short answer: No

[@GWJUK]

I just drive these days, since the Covid restrictions (not covid its self) the service and price have been terrible.

[@solsburian]

I am old enough to remember what Virgin Trains were like when they they started operations. Virgin has always been about style over substance, and while Avanti are bad, the new Virgin Trains would have been exactly the same.

[@michaeljohndennis2231]

Living in Manchester and having family in Ireland, wanting to use socially responsible alternative means to flying and air travel especially as the Irish government plans to follow EU climate change directives post Covid and post Brexit and restrict or ban all short-haul flights between Ireland and the U.K., I use Holyhead to Dublin ferries but there are still very few direct trains between Manchester and Holyhead, using Crewe, Chester & Lladnuo to change trains, with very little time allowed to change trains at opposite ends of huge stations starting from Platform 13 at Manchester Piccadilly and on Transport for Wales, using tiny and overcrowded trains on SailRail - I’ve often missed the Holyhead train if my connection from Manchester is late - the Labour controlled Welsh Assembly has a lot to do with this too, putting in restrictive practices in place that don’t serve the Welsh people very well either and if anything does go wrong they just blame Network Rail or the trade unions

[@acfbrown1]

I travelled on Avanti the other week between Haymarket and Preston as my £1 TPE train was cancelled due to an infrastructure problem at Manchester. I thought Avanti was alright in standard class and was only 5 minutes late into Preston. At least they have plenty of capacity on their Scotland-Birmingham-Euston trains when they are running unlike TPE . I'm not sure what the point of Standard Premium is though. I hope the worst has past as they still have their franchise for 2.5 years.

[@Vanmanyo]

Avanti can be nice if they aren't super delayed/overcrowded, their refurbished trains are nice indeed! Standard premium is basically a first class seat without the food etc. It seems pretty useless but apparantley is busy (although I've never seen anyone use it)

[@willhovell9019]

End the contract now, take the West Coast mainline back into public control, it's destroying the economy of North West England and Glasgow being devastated

[@Bungle-UK]

So much drama - are you going for an Oscar?

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Avanti West Coast for me aren’t as bad since they took over from Virgin Trains and they still are the best train operator on the West Coast Main Line.

[@Vanmanyo]

Idk LNWR are more reliable. Also virgin weren't that bad!

[@craighobbs3708]

Their neglect of Northampton too!

[@paulroach2538]

Stumbled upon your channel ' sub now enjoying it

[@Vanmanyo]

Awesome, thank you!

[@TanVasinTrains]

I want a video virgin trains, The opposite of Avanti. However, I like the avanti livery

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

These problems will not end by just terminating the Contract with Avanti West Coast Rilways over the present operating problems, these are being caused by the Government and the Unions and even if Avanti West Coast had the contract terminated any new operator will not be any different due to a thing called TUPEE where by when a contract is transfered from ome company to a new company all employees of the previouse company transfer to the new company hence until sorted alll employee grieveinces are transfered to the new company and hence the promlems that are going on with Avanti transfer to the new company and the problem just carries on

[@Transpennine]

I don’t think Avanti west coast are the worst. I really like their service, I love their trains, interiors and they are a real pleasure to travel with! I haven’t had any cancellations or delays with them. There are far worse operators than Avanti, such as TPE. Avanti west coast actually gave 2 of their Super voyagers to Grand central which is very nice to see them at my local station! I hope Avanti start going to some other stations like Liverpool south parkway and Poulton le fylde, less frequently maybe like 1-3 a day but it’s better than the one Sunday service a week that they get now.

[@Vanmanyo]

Avanti on weekends are one of the worst operators around! Last Saturday they recorded 44 cancellations (or something like that). Their trains are nice though, when you get on one of them. When you say Avanti 'gave" two 221s to GC, actually you mean the DfT and the leasing company gave them! Avanti had 0 influence on the GC voyagers!

[@Transpennine]

@@Vanmanyo yeah that’s what I meant 😂, it is good that GC got 2 super voyagers

[@Vanmanyo]

@@Transpennine XC need them more!!

[@JackGourdon-je4ze]

why can i hear david cutter music?? btw i have watched this 4 times lol

[@Vanmanyo]

David cutter has good copyright free music that's why!

[@JackGourdon-je4ze]

@@Vanmanyo yeah and its good (sorry for late reply)

[@JackGourdon-je4ze]

bro why did virgin get replaced by Avanti West Coast ? virgin was still a good operator

[@Jimmyjamesgannon]

Because he was a labour supporter

[@barrielui]

Avanti is bad but they are on par, if not even better than, the most TOC not serving London, such as Cross Country, TPE, Northern, TfW and more. Sadly this is the reality non-London commuters have to deal with.

[@L0g4n-gardx]

I have never had issues with AWC, I still firmly believe the mess is with TPE

[@Vanmanyo]

You are lucky!

[@nickjones9867]

Meanwhile Avanti management found with a slide in an internal presentation with the title "roll up roll up get your free money". You couldn't make it up.

[@Vanmanyo]

I saw that in the Guardian. An absolute joke, says what you need to know about how well the franchise system works..

[@TheJRWH]

I mean say what you like about Avanti, but that 90 & coaches set in BR Swallow? Very nice ;)

[@ianhalsall-fox]

Hmmm, Can I add CrossCountry and their Voyagers to the top of that list?

[@comicbookguygamecat]

Transpennine has improved I haven't really noticed a lot of cancellations but I think emr are getting worse I find emr services are delayed a lot or cancelled yes transpennine has delayed or cancelled services as well but not as bad as they used to be.

[@Vanmanyo]

TPE, EMR, XC, AWC; they're all pretty bad

[@comicbookguygamecat]

@@Vanmanyo yep great video by the way.

[@Vanmanyo]

@@comicbookguygamecat thank you!!

[@RandomUsername3040]

What a good video good documentary

[@Vanmanyo]

Thank you

[@Devkumar43072]

I had nothing but cancelations with Avanti trains then rub salt to injury a £4.50 compensation despite my train was canceled and when I go to Manchester this month it is normally done by train but with the joke called Avanti I'm making the same journey by either megabus or flixbus instead.

[@ЕЛКОРДОБЭСТОРЕРО]

But it was said that private companies offer better service and low fares

[@Vanmanyo]

Yes that's basically the whole debate over whether privatisation truly is better or not. That's quite the question though!

[@Mgameing123]

@@Vanmanyo It depends. Avanti only fucked the West Coast Mainline over because they will just bribe the government for contract extension.

[@Bungle-UK]

The vast majority of fares are set by the government, so have nothing to do with private companies.

[@montystelevision3238]

Expensive rail operator. I looked up Southampton to Manchester and it was £484. This was for a more flexible ticket but I don't want to be tied to certain trains. Also the booking page was awash with loads of tickets and prices. It need simplifying. First/2nd Class Single. First/2nd class return. When you go on the bus you don't have 1,000 tickets. It's just turn up, pay the fare to go to wherever. Ultimately, I just drove there and back.

[@Vanmanyo]

It is ridiculous how expensive fares can be! Definitely needs simplifying..

[@montystelevision3238]

@@Vanmanyo I think the railways have gone to hell on a handcart. Complex fares, cramped trains with hard seats. Scrapping of coaches when lines have two coach trains with standing room only. You can't even get a "rail holiday" now. Once there was Golden Rail where you could have a package holiday that included rail travel and hotels.

[@Vanmanyo]

@@montystelevision3238 Sadly I have never been able to see the 'rail holiday' era; my grandparents took a direct Leamington-Blackpool service for their honeymoon for £100 return. I wonder what that would cost today, and how many changes would be needed...

[@DarkLeaf]

There was nearly AWC trains to walsall?

[@Vanmanyo]

I believe Avanti or Virgin wanted to/explored a service from Walsall to Euston. Now a new open access operator will.

[@Spacebug111]

everyday i wake up and are happy that avanti are a day closer to losing the franchise

[@michaelwells6797]

Nowhere as bad as Cross Country.

[@devon896]

Avanti means "Forward" not Go Ahead.

[@Vanmanyo]

Blame google translate on that one.... it roughly means the same thing though (and allowed me to put the Go Ahead joke in!)

[@lummatravel]

Grand Central would like to have a word

[@andrearicci8938]

someone tell this man that crosscountry still exists💀💀💀

[@lopsitnuz4377]

avanti west coast should run to wrexham as it would serve to replace the old wrexham and shropshire that used to run services from london to wrexham and shrewsbury

[@Vanmanyo]

There is actually a plan for a new operator from Wrexham to Euston! Not Avanti though (thankfully)

[@barbarahannon6033]

When Avanti were Vrgin trains I could get a train from Edinburgh to Birmigham to visit my famlly, now when I want to see them I have to get the LNER or a Lumo train to London and then get a train to Birmingham Fron Euston or Marylebone . No trains run from Edinburgh to Birmingham on the weekends But they do operate out of Glasgow, not vey helpfull for people living outside of Glasgow.

[@Vanmanyo]

I agree! If you're interested in the company that operates your journeys out of Marylebone, I have a Chiltern video out now!

[@cjmillsnun]

Would it not be quicker to get Scotrail to Glasgow then Avanti to Birmingham?

[@nathanw9770]

Cross Country operates directly from Edinburgh to Birmingham. Their service isn't much better than Avanti's but at least it's direct and much quicker than changing in London.

[@gsx1250fast]

Please, please bring back Virgin.

[@richarddastardly6845]

I call bs, I’m after a train driver job but I can never find one, rarely see them advertised

[@Vanmanyo]

I've seen them several times on various websites!

[@Pikaling3408]

I think with the next general election I think it will be going under OLR after the election as Labour is likely to win the next election and they are not fond of the privatization model and their position on this is clearly explicit that they want to renationalise all rail operators in the UK. Another reason is because the Avanti route runs into the Red Wall and the Scottish Central Belt which is what Labour will be hoping to win back at the next election which would be a popular move in both these parts of the UK if the Avanti route is brought under OLR.

[@Vanmanyo]

Labour have already pledged for nationalization so hopefully they commit to it!

[@Pikaling3408]

@@Vanmanyo I hope so but with Avanti giving that there could be new Labour MPs elected in the Red Wall and Scottish Central Belt (especially Glasgow) there will be a lot of calls coming from them for Avanti's contract to be terminated.

[@DelinquentRevenge]

nobody seems to mention the livery. the livery, in my opinion, a disgrace. the colors are dead. sure the fade of the livery is quite cool but it just screams lifeless. if an operator's livery would be chosen to brutally honestly represent a company, this would be it. there is no colour. you could make this livery in a minute. nd also the virgin pendolinos sounded much better. i love the distinct "wew" sound they made when passing by, also the voyager's "zooum" sound. ive only been close to the WCML in the Kenton areas and the wews and zooums have been very noticable. i miss virgin trains a lot. im glad i grew up with good sounding trains with a good look that arent meant to replace s9me of the last icon british trains. ive been at said Kenton location and after virgin disappeared ive never seen a super voyager ever since.

[@Vanmanyo]

Interesting point! I've never really thought about the livery but I have to agree. Compared to the flash of Virgin and the pride felt when travelling on them, you feel as though Avanti don't really care, with pretty boring monotone colours - it's a shame that modern companies feel the need to be so bland! Virgin were very cool - I highlighted this in my recent Virgin pendolino videos!

[@m-arky66]

I think you're missing the point here, good looking and sounding trains are irrelevant and make no difference to a service. If you want to apply your logic, look at some airlines. Aer Lingus have had the same basic boring livery for decades!

[@Vanmanyo]

@@m-arky66 I think the image of Avanti does signify how the franchis has gone downhill, it seems to be far less customer based, and far more corporate blandness!

[@DelinquentRevenge]

@@m-arky66 i never said "oh liveries effect services blah blah". you misunderstood the point. good looking liveries/ train sounds MAY appeal to others bringing in a bit more customers. also imo the air lingus shamrock livery is quite neat.

[@breeny225]

i was on a 19:10 service from nuneaton to manchester stopping at stoke to see my partner and got told while i was on the train that it wasn't stopping at stoke and would stop at Stockport and put buses on to get people to Stoke and the sorounding areas.

[@FraserKM]

Refurbished 390 seats hurt my back, is it only me?

[@Vanmanyo]

I totally agree with you! We must be the same height to get stabbed in the back as the seat sticks out a bit at the bottom! (At least that's how I find them uncomfortable)

[@PolishThatHandle346]

Some bits of your article are quite negative and perhaps not overly reflective. Suggesting that the risk from Covid in 2022 was low is OK to say with hindsight but was certainly not the case at the time with countries still insisting on a nine month proof of vaccination cycle. In addition, if you look at other operators in comparison to Avanti during the Dec 2023 period you'll see plenty of other problems across the network - this is fairly common during Christmas periods. I'd strongly suggest you review WMTs service along the Hereford line and Trent Valley route during this month as an initial barometer

[@Vanmanyo]

Thank you for this comment! I would say in the UK in 2022 COVID was well and truly behind us, referring to lockdowns etc (of course it was still an economical factor and will be for some time). Christmas disruption always occurs but the scale of Avanti's hadn't been seen before - physically cutting half of Manchester services due to crew. WMT were poor over Christmas but this was sporadic, and at least they tried to run a full timetable!

[@andyphillips7437]

Use them quite regularly and have only very rarely had any problems.

[@Vanmanyo]

You are very lucky!

[@Nevergonna912]

For me the service is great but the history is not

[@TheosTrainsWalesOfficial]

Well, that's WORST-Group for you...

[@KPeake-wk2te]

I have used this operator a decent number of times, terribly unreliable and the trains are overpriced too

[@Vanmanyo]

I agree! Shame all operators are overpriced now though

[@KPeake-wk2te]

@Vanmanyo i have a railcard and it does for some operators like Northern offer decent fares

[@Vanmanyo]

​@@KPeake-wk2te I usually abuse my railcard through rangers and rovers (in a metaphorical sense, of course I'm not doing anything illegal)! I think they are the best way to get great fares!

[@andrewbutler6477]

Not the worst Manchester to London 9/11 car train Manchester to Cardiff 2 car unit full and standing sometimes a class 150 !!!!

[@Finnstransportvideos12]

havent even watched and can say cross country is the worst

[@Vanmanyo]

Quite possibly! But I believe Avanti, for delays & cancellations are still worse!

[@MTGP1525]

South Western Railway Is Worse.

[@Vanmanyo]

Bold statement!

[@MTGP1525]

@@Vanmanyo First withdrawing the class 442 Wessex Electrics, Class 456, Class 707 (From Brand New) Ordering New Trains Class 701s back in 2019 and soft entering service in 2024.

[@cjmillsnun]

I think they are equally bad. But there is some commonality. Both involve Worst Group.

[@James-ih4gz]

if i saw mk 3s coming into station id happly take it

[@Vanmanyo]

I already do with Chiltern 😆

[@James-ih4gz]

@@Vanmanyo I must go to the UK to take them. Sadly the ones in Ireland were all scrapped in 2014. There is mk 2s left in Ireland rpsi a heritage organisation I volunteer run the sets. We have cravens down south in Dublin. The mk 2 set is in northern Ireland head quarters. They have mix mk 2 b and a and d coaches and I think mk 2fs too.

[@Pendolino56]

Private companies ahhh

[@mubzytv]

Avanti West Coast are a fucking disgrace. Was much better when Virgin had trains

[@YorkshireLADGaming]

Avanti late coast.

[@matpk]

What about railway in south Korea ❓

[@Vanmanyo]

Sadly I do not know enough to make a video on that!

[@maurogori5425]

so trenitalia is shitty internationally, not just in italy. interesting

[@Vanmanyo]

I never knew they were bad in Italy!

[@andyallthings]

Norhern are way better cheap fairs on time trains 10 pond better than paying 300 gust one return ticket avanti are gust a nuther greedy oprater

[@Bungle-UK]

Do you need to take some English lessons?

[@andyallthings]

why did you go to oxford I presume yore spelling must be perfect if you feal the need to correct mine theirs always a internet word smith thinking they no better go on count down if you Need too

[@nicktrains2234]

Cross-country exists, your premise is flawed

[@Vanmanyo]

Pahaha! That may be true in terms of the trains and capacity, but in terms of actual services I think Avanti still are the worst due to the mere amount of cancellations they have

[@paulaylesbury]

Yep, they are indeed truly awful. Can’t say a good word about them.

[@TransportTech]

Only positive thing I can say about them is the livery and the 390s

[@mrvwbug4423]

@@TransportTech Yeah, the 390s are probably the nicest rolling stock in the UK, just run by a horribly mismanaged operator.

[@gorgu08]

Conservative government, what is the lowest price you can deliver this shit service for?…….Deal!

[@OiforEngland]

No way the god forsaken East Midlands Rail is by far the worst, they're truly awful

[@kyle07871323519]

I hate Aventi! Bring back Virgin!!!!