and the government had various options, it could have cancelled it altogether, could have extended it by altogether, could have extended it ljy up altogether, could have extended it by up to ten years, but what it has chosen to do is to give this very short extension for six months, which comes with big warnings, to drastically improve services. first group runs avanti west drastically improve services. first group runs ava nti west coast drastically improve services. first group runs avanti west coast and they have welcomed this, they say they have welcomed this, they say they are training more drivers up, they are training more drivers up, they are training more drivers up, they are bringing 70 or so services back every week and they promise a full timetable by the 11th of december. full timetable by the 11th of december. ~ . ., , ,, december. meanwhile, more strike action on the december. meanwhile, more strike action on the railways december. meanwhile, more strike action on t
and has been remanded in custody. the rail operator avanti west coast has been told it has to drastically improve services after it was given only a six month extension to its contract. avanti, which operates the line between london and glasgow, cut its services this summer with those between london and manchester the worst affected. with me is our business correspondent marc ashdown. is this the last chance saloon for avanti west is this the last chance saloon for ava nti west coast? is this the last chance saloon for avanti west coast? i is this the last chance saloon for avanti west coast? avanti west coast? i think final written warning avanti west coast? i think final written warning is avanti west coast? i think final written warning is probably - avanti west coast? i think final| written warning is probably fair. this is a part of the route between london euston and manchester piccadilly. avanti was running about three services an hour but cut it down to just one, blaming t
hello this is bbc news. the headlines. social the headlines. care providers in england worn social care providers in england worn a complete overhaul of the system is needed to prevent millions of people from being left without support. the uk s fiscal watchdog prepares to deliver its initial forecast of the economy to the chancellor today. it s full report will be published next month. the department for transport has told avanti the department for transport has told ava nti to the department for transport has told avanti to drastically improve its services after giving a six month extension to its contract. the nobel peace prize has been awarded and to organisations, the russian human rights group memorial and the centre for civil liberties in ukraine. and it is that bet week in alaska where brown bears are preparing for
back, you know, when they were here. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, has warned the train operator ava nti west coast that it s in the last chance saloon after it made significant reductions to its timetable. on friday the firm s managing director resigned, after criticism of the disruption to services. juliet phillips reports. rail passengers travelling between manchester and london have faced weeks of disruption since avanti west coast reduced trains to just one per hour. greater manchester s welcomed the news that the company s managing director has stood down, but says the government must now step in to ensure services are restored. the new prime minister needs to instruct the transport secretary to sit down with the mayor of london, to sit down with myself, the company and the unions to sort this out. i would rather get the trains back as quickly as possible, and if they are prepared to do that, then they re in there in the last chance saloon, but they re going
to have to show that they can do that. but if they can t, then they should have the contract removed. it s as simple as that. avanti has said drivers who are members of the aslef union have been refusing to do overtime, which has put pressure on services. the union denies this, accusing the company of a lack of recruitment. rail expert tony miles says there s no quick fix. there s a fundamental problem. the railways, right back to british rail days, have relied on train crew working overtime to make up the numbers. if they want to do away with that, it s going to take years to recruit additional workers. if they want them to work their overtime, at the moment, that means the government s going to have to get involved in sorting out the industrial disputes. for passengers on avanti trains they ll be hoping the issues can be solved sooner rather than later. we ve been hearing a lot from passengers about avanti in the last few days. they re talking about crowded trains, having to stand fo