Andy Burnham's key demands as Avanti West Coast gets new six month contract

The mayor of Greater Manchester has set out his key demands after Avanti West Coast was given another chance to sort itself out by the Government. The company's reputation has taken a battering after making the controversial decision to slash its timetable between Manchester and London to one service an hour on August 8.

Andy Burnham slammed the move as 'nothing short of a disgrace' at the time. It formed just part of the misery for Avanti customers, as ticket sales were also suspended and full timetables were not published in advance as expected.

Two ultimatums were issued by Mr Burnham, on August 26 and yesterday (October 6), to get Avanti's timetable back on track. Now, the Government has announced Avanti has a new contract and six months to improve its performance, with Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan insisting the operator must prove it is 'capable of running this crucial route to a standard passengers deserve and expect'.

READ MORE: "The Government has rewarded chaos and failure": Anger in Greater Manchester as Avanti handed new six-month rail contract

In a statement, Mr Burnham welcomed the Government's intent to keep an eye on Avanti West Coast. But the mayor wants to see leaders in Westminster go further and faster, and has laid out two key demands to make sure Avanti isn't allowed to let standards slip.

First, he says the Government must monitor Avanti's performance day-to-day, and publish the findings every week. Second, he wants the Government to consider Avanti's contract again in mid-December, along with mayors and leaders from London, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

And if the company's performance is not deemed good enough by then, Mr Burnham says