Calls to scrap first-class carriages on Avanti trains over Christmas period

Political and business leaders from across the North of England are calling on Avanti to scrap first class carriages on their trains until services improve. Transport for the North (TfN) will write to the government proposing that all trains are 'declassified' immediately.

It comes after Avanti West Coast announced it would cut the number of services it operates in December due to staff shortages. The operator has reduced its services running between London and Manchester with only two trains an hour to the capital on Saturdays.

Routes to Birmingham and North Wales have also been affected. The announcement in October came just a few weeks after the operator was awarded a nine-year contract by the government following warnings that it had to improve its performance.

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Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham described the news that services will be cut as a 'kick in the teeth'. He met with other Northern leaders at a TfN board meeting on Thursday (December 14) where members discussed the operator's recent performance.

They agreed to write to the transport secretary about the 'inadequate' and 'unacceptable' level of service claiming the number of cancellations is 'too high'. The board also agreed to issue statutory advice - which means the Secretary of State must take note - calling for the declassification of first-class carriages with 'immediate effect' due to the high demand during the festive period.

They said that this policy should remain in place 'until an adequate service is restored in the new year'. Lord McLoughlin Chair of