Despite being one of Britain's busiest routes, passengers have been consistently facing disruptions, delays and cancellations due to issues with infrastructure, a result of long-term underinvestment along the West Coast Main Line.
...For years, Avanti have been underperforming, with passengers paying the price.
In her speech at the recent Labour Party Conference, Alexander stated: "For years, Avanti have been underperforming, with passengers paying the price".
The government emphasises a range of benefits for passengers: fewer delays and cancellations, thanks to a £10 million boost for power and signal maintenance due to be delivered by the end of next year; faster and more reliable services, focusing on services in and out of Manchester; and improvements to London Euston Station.
The announcement of this change has been met with mixed opinions. A second year student hopes that the nationalisation will improve services, as she has been personally affected several times by delays and cancellations: "I pay £40 for those tickets, and my parents have had to pick me up every time".
However, the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) is concerned about many of its members, stating that "thousands of cleaners, gate line, security staff, infrastructure maintenance, renewal and engineering workers, are being left behind due to being employed by private contractors", and demands that outsourced workers be brought into direct employment.
Andy Mellors, Managing Director at Avanti West Coast, says that 'over the coming months, we'll work closely with the government to ensure a seamless transition into public ownership while remaining focused on delivering for our customers and communities".