🚆 The future of trains
The business news that matters
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch…
Avanti has been awarded a new long-term contract to operate the West Coast Mainline in the UK, the government has announced today.
Avanti, a joint venture between the UK company First Group and the state-backed Italian business Trenitalia, had been operating with a short-term contract after complaints by passengers over cancellations, delays and problems with train services. However, the Department for Transport said there had been “significant improvements across reliability, punctuality and customer satisfaction”, with cancellations falling to 1.1 per cent this year.
West Coast train services run between London, Birmingham, Manchester, the north-west and Scotland.
The new contract will run for at least three years but could run for as long as nine years. However, after three years the government can terminate the contract at any point with three month’s notice. Avanti has also been awarded a new contract to run the Cross Country rail network.
Mark Harper, the transport secretary, said:
“The routes Avanti West Coast operate provide vital connections, and passengers must feel confident that they can rely on the services to get them where they need to be at the right time.
“Over the past year, short-term contracts were necessary to rebuild the timetable and reduce cancellations. Now Avanti are back on track, providing long-term certainty for both the operator and passengers will best ensure that improvements continue.”
You can find the government’s full statement here
Train services between London, Birmingham and Manchester are particularly in focus right now as Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt debate scrapping HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester and the link between Old Oak Common in west London and Euston station in central London.
That story was first reported by The Independent last week (more in last Thursday’s Off to Lunch here) but is gathering momentum ahead of the Conservative party conference in a couple of weeks, which is Manchester. The comment below from Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, sums up the local mood there…
The Financial Times reports this morning on the heated debate in the House of Commons on Monday about parts of HS2 being scrapped. Iain Stewart, the Conservative chairman of the transport select committee, said:
“Communities would have been enormously impacted for no great benefit.”
Mary Robinson, the Conservative MP for Cheadle in Great Manchester, added:
“In order to unlock economic growth and power up northern productivity, our region must have improved connectivity both to our capital and with a Northern Powerhouse Rail connecting our cities across the north.”
However, Richard Holden, the transport minister, refused to confirm the government’s plans for HS2 and said:
“I am proud of the fact that this government is unashamedly on the side of the taxpayer when we are checking through every single policy that’s put forward.”
You can read that FT story here. The Guardian also covered the debate and the frustration in Manchester here. This is a story that is likely to develop over the next few weeks…
Other stories that matter…
1. Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, has warned that profits will be lower than expected this year, with sales hit by poor weather in the UK in July and early August and tough trading in Europe. Shares in Kingfisher were down 7 per cent in morning trading. Statement from the company here
2. Elon Musk said three years ago that Tesla would deliver a $25,000 (£20,193) electric car this year, but the company is yet to deliver on that pledge. The Information has done a big feature on why the cheaper Tesla still seems some way off. You can read that here. Meanwhile, in a not unrelated story, sales of zero-emission vehicles to consumers have fallen in the UK this year according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The SMMT said that private buyers need more incentives to encourage the mass adoption of electric vehicles. Story by The Times here
3. The Financial Times has looked at the Competition and Markets Authority’s new approach to regulation in the UK, which appears to shifting towards the US in terms of its aggression and unwillingness to compromise. This is an interesting and important piece for anyone trying to understand the approach to competition in UK markets. You can read it here
4. Establishing who the most important person in your business is can be vital for building the right strategy, according to a piece by The Economist here
5. New research from Harvard has looked at the origins of zero-sum thinking and how it shapes modern political debates. Twitter thread here
And finally…
Rory Smith, the chief soccer correspondent for The New York Times, has written a brilliant piece about how a group of former professional footballers now meet for a regular, casual match on an astroturf pitch in southern Manchester. The kick-about started during the Covid-19 crisis and has grown in popularity so much that there is a waiting list to join (and a lively WhatsApp group). Those who play combined for more than 1,000 appearances in the Premier League during their professional career.
The feature is full of fun details and colour, but is also a wistful look at retirement and what it means. “There’s no buildup, and then one day you’re at home, wondering what to do with yourself,” says Alex Bruce, one of the players, about retirement.
You can find the piece here
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Best
Graham