AVANTI CELEBRATES ‘FREE MONEY’!

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january/february 2024 :: RMTnews 4 Avanti West Coast has been left with egg on its face after a leaked internal presentation described government subsidies as ‘free money’. On one of the slides released by Novara Media, an image appeared saying: ‘Roll- up, roll-up get your free money here!’. Another slide explained how train operators are paid bonuses by the government even if services are not run completely to schedule, under the service quality regime (SQR). This included the statement: “Sound too good to be true? Well on this occasion – it isn’t – it’s the absolute truth!” The leaked presentation follows calls in December for an urgent review of the company's operations after the rail firm announced that it was slashing West Coast Mainline services throughout December. Avanti West Coast is owned 70 per cent by FirstGroup and 30 per cent by Italian state railways Trenitalia which operate the West Coast Partnership. During the pandemic, train operating companies went onto emergency contracts where the government paid a fixed amount for them to deliver services with the taxpayer bearing the financial risk, a system that is still in place. Train operators can get paid more if they meet certain targets, "just like other government suppliers", according to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which speaks on behalf of the rail industry. "That means it is taxpayers who bear the burden of a railway that is unsustainable," the RDG said in December. Transport for the North said that passengers were enduring a "deteriorating service" with 31.8 per cent of all services cancelled or delayed over a period of eight days. Yet back in September last year, Avanti West Coast’s operating contact was renewed by the Department for Transport for up to nine years, with Transport Secretary Mark Harper claiming that it was ‘back on track’ following major disruption. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that Avanti was one of the worst rail companies in terms of performance and how it treated its rail staff. “For senior management to produce a PowerPoint slide bragging about the government paying them public money is a disgrace. “The government has the mandate over Avanti and should never have given them a long-term nine-year contract award. “The fact that the company feels emboldened to boast that they get ‘free money’ is down to the ridiculous system of rail ownership in this country. “Ultimately profit driven companies who receive huge public subsidies have failed to deliver for railway workers and passengers alike. And that’s why we need public ownership of the entire network,” he said. An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “These slides were an attempt to explain how the SQR works to some of our colleagues, but the language used in this presentation was regrettable and we apologise for this”. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told MPs that he was not aware of the matter but pledged to look into it. First Group's latest yearly profits to March 2023 show that Avanti had made profit before tax of £12.8 million and paid dividends of £11 million to shareholders. AVANTI CELEBRATES ‘FREE MONEY’! Avanti West Coast caught out referring to performance payments as ‘too good to be true’