Redefining rail travel: Avanti West Coast’s sustainable vision for linking major cities
The West Coast Main Line is Britain’s premier long-distance railway, linking together towns and major cities to create a vital economic artery. Running on this railway is British train operating company Avanti West Coast (Avanti), part of the West Coast Partnership, a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia. Before telling us more about the company’s progress, Andy Mellors, Managing Director, gives us a brief overview of Avanti’s operations.
“While I have only been the Managing Director at Avanti for 18 months, I have worked in the railway industry my entire working life. I started as a sponsored engineering student approximately 35 years ago, before going on to earn an engineering degree. In the last three decades, I have held numerous positions up and down the country, initially in engineering and then in directorial roles. My career with FirstGroup began just over 20 years ago, a time during which I worked or lived in most of the major cities served by Avanti, namely London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow. Therefore, I understand the importance of the railway we
operate and the connectivity it provides to these major cities and conurbations. At Avanti, we run long-distance intercity services that connect not just the West Coast Main Line between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool as well as Glasgow, but also along the North Wales coast to Chester and Holyhead.
“Running around 270 trains every day requires a significant logistical effort to ensure that our trains and staff are in the right place at the right time to provide the best possible service for our customers and communities. However, this is not something we can do alone, as the rail industry is very much a team effort. Network Rail is our infrastructure provider and a particularly crucial partner with whom we work very closely. In addition, we have other key partners like Alstom, who provides and maintains our rolling stock, and Hitachi, who recently built a new fleet of trains for us in the North East of England,” he explains.
Increasing services
Through strategic partnerships and investments in its fleet, Avanti is continuously growing and expanding its presence, with the aim to provide better transport for more communities across the UK. “We are exclusively a long-distance intercity operator, utilizing a fleet of intercity trains that includes our iconic Pendolino fleet of 56 electric trains. After a £117 million investment, we recently completed a refurbishment of these trains, the largest overhaul program ever done on trains in the UK. It was a collaborative effort between us, Angel Trains (who own the fleet) and rail manufacturer Alstom – who undertook the project at their facility in Widnes. The renovated Pendolino fleet runs alongside our brand new Evero fleet, which was built by Hitachi. I believe this fleet is symbolic in two ways. Firstly, we operate on some routes that are not electrified, such as the one from Crewe to Holyhead, where we have historically used diesel trains. However, we recently procured a bi-mode fleet for that route, which has the capability to run in both diesel and electric mode. As a result of that, it does not use fuel when running on the electrified network, and therefore should significantly reduce emissions by an estimated two-thirds or more, making our operation even greener.
“The second reason why this fleet is symbolically important is that we have procured ten additional electric trains that will enable us to grow the business, as we have a long-held aspiration, supported by stakeholders, to run two trains an hour to Liverpool. At the moment, we only run one train an hour to Liverpool, which in comparison to Manchester and the West Midlands that enjoy three trains an hour, is not the same level of service. With the events that have happened on Merseyside in the last few years, namely Eurovision, which have significantly boosted the visitor economy, we want to support continued regional growth by running more train services. The first of these extra services started on 11th of November, and we are really looking forward to continuing to grow our business,” Andy reveals.
Enhanced energy efficiency
Avanti is deeply committed to sustainability, going beyond the electrification of its fleet. Andy explains how the refurbishment of its Pendolino fleet aligns with environmentally friendly practices while enhancing customer experience. “When it comes to sustainability, the more people we can encourage to travel by rail, the more sustainable we become. Our energy utilization and CO2 equivalent emissions are decreasing not only due to our initiatives but also because of the changing grid mix, with more electricity generated from renewable and lower carbon sources, which is helpful for our environmental credentials. Nonetheless, we are also taking action at the local level in our stations, installation building management systems, energy efficient lighting, and making improvements in our water consumption. Even though we only operate 16 stations due to our long-distance focus and tend to exclusively deal with medium or larger sized stations, we are very keen to make sure that we do our bit in terms of station housekeeping to reduce our carbon footprint.
“Furthermore, during the refurbishment of our Pendolino trains, we made a variety of improvements to their environmental credentials. For example, they are now fitted with more energy efficient lighting, as we recognized that what was leading-edge technology 20 years ago is no longer considered so today. The purpose of the refurbishment was not just to give customers a better experience through a refurbished saloon, but also to take the opportunity to make improvements with energy usage on trains as well as some accessibility enhancements after consulting with out accessibility panel,” he adds.
Transforming rail transport
As our conversation draws to a close Andy sheds light on the challenges Avanti is anticipating within the next few years and the wider future and its efforts to overcome them. “The government has expressed its intention to nationalize train operators once legislative changes have been made, but there are already several train operators that are directly under government control. However, the core term on our current National Rail contract runs for another two years, which means that we will continue to operate and provide services for that period of time, regardless of legislative changes. The uncertainty of these wider developments does not diminish our enthusiasm for delivering better quality services and focusing on our growth agenda.
“No matter what happens with the debate over ownership, it is crucial that we maintain our focus on delivery, growth, and employee engagement. These are aspects we cannot lose sight of because customers want quality value for money services. Additionally, Transport Focus, the industry watchdog, always reminds us that the single biggest thing that customers want is for trains to run as per the timetable. Therefore, this is another key aspect where we must continue to maintain our focus. By doing those things, providing a great onboard experience, as well as continuously evolving and innovating our commercial proposition, we can drive growth,” he ends.
Through productive partnerships and a focus on sustainability and connecting communities, Avanti is poised to further transform public rail transport across the UK in the years to come.