2 years on from Avanti taking over the West Coast Mainline, things have just turned into a giant mess from broken promises, lack of improvements from Virgin Trains and sky-high ticket fares with almost all advance ticket prices removed, Avanti seem to be doing all they can to wreck the west coast mainline which provides routes from London Euston to some of the biggest cities in the country including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and even Scotland.
The interior of the trains remains the same, even the exterior has been a lazy job done, lacking a distinctive livery for some trains, two years on. The trains are still nicer compared to some train companies who run shorter-distance routes including Northern but again they remain highly dated which doesn't do the WCML justice.
The removal of advance fares for most journeys makes travelling so much more expensive, with my railcard a return ticket to London often ends up costing just over £60. It works out cheaper to drive, even in central London.
Avanti also promised more trains at night, which haven't been delivered, the later trains always seem to either be cancelled or diverted, meaning they take much longer just to travel at night between the country's biggest cities?
I have had many dealings with train managers who were confrontational and simply rude.
The First Class offering remains poor, the only gluten-free food option is a selection of dry crackers, again they have not changed the menu since taking charge of the line.
Avanti runs the most profitable train line in the country, they are simply profiting off their predecessor with a lack of changes other than service failures, price rises and all round lack of care. 2* read more