Avanti West Coast Contract Renewal Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Transport
Jack Brereton
Main Page: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)Department Debates - View all Jack Brereton's debates with the Department for Transport
Avanti West Coast Contract Renewal
Jack Brereton Excerpts(2 years ago)
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Kevin Foster
First, I am always pleased to note that the vast majority of commuters in Birmingham, Coventry and the west midlands have the benefit of Mayor Andy Street pushing their transport services forward, and we are delighted to work with him to ensure quality. As for Avanti, we have engaged directly with Mayor Street, because we want to see improvements and we want the service to change. We will have a plan to do so in December.
Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)
In addition to the severe disruption and overcrowding of services through Stoke-on-Trent, commitments to improve stations have not been fulfilled. Will my hon. Friend look at what more can be done to ensure that those contractual obligations to improve stations such as Stoke-on-Trent are fulfilled by Avanti?
Kevin Foster
Certainly we are keen that Avanti should honour all its contractual obligations. The one on which we are most focused is ensuring that it improves the operation of the railway but, similarly, we would want to consider the other commitments that it made—the progress that has been made on them and how it is honouring them—as part of the longer-term decision.