Avanti boss apologises for 'terrible' Manchester service and promises return to 'normal' for Christmas in brutal BBC grilling

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

An Avanti boss has apologised for the rail operator's 'terrible' service but insisted they are the right company to run the operations during a gruelling interview this morning.

Richard Scott, Avanti West Coast 's director of corporate affairs, joined Nick Robinson on Radio 4's 'Today' programme to face questions about the company's 'appalling' service between London and Manchester - which has seen timetables slashed in recent months.

The BBC host quizzed Mr Scott on whether Avanti was the 'worst service in the country' and asked why the rail operator, who took over the west coast mainline trains from Virgin in 2019, deserved the six months they have been given by the government to 'sort itself out'. READ MORE: Customers say they are STILL struggling for tickets as the clock ticks on Avanti West Coast "I'm broadcasting from the great city of Manchester today, well more precisely the neighbouring city of Salford, and if you want to hear people get really angry up here, you only have to say one word: Avanti," Mr Robinson said, before playing several clips of disgruntled passengers at Manchester Piccadilly. "I've come from London Euston, two of the trains were cancelled, so three lots of passengers getting on one train," one said, while another said the service was unreliable and 'uncomfortable'.

Mr Robinson asked Mr Scott whether transport minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan's blasting of Avanti services as 'terrible' was a 'good word'. "Well, we know we're not good enough at the moment, Nick, we haven't been good enough over the last few weeks, and we're still not good enough at the moment," Mr Scott replied. "But we are making progress.