Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Avanti West Coast train executive in relation to their performance in maintaining scheduled direct passenger services between (1) London and Holyhead, and (2) London and Wrexham.

Avanti West Coast (AWC) has made significant progress in recovering from recent poor reliability and punctuality, but we are clear that performance is still not good enough and there is more to do. Officials continue to closely monitor and review AWC’s progress to a sustained recovery, restoring services reliably on the West Coast Main Line and delivering good value for the taxpayer. Officials regularly meet with AWC senior management to review performance and we will always hold AWC to account for matters within its control.

Over the next few months AWC is working to introduce a brand-new fleet of bi-mode Hitachi trains offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers along the North Wales mainline.