The Department does not routinely hold data related to service alterations at specific times of the day. Passengers are protected by the National Conditions of Carriage and where the last train of the day is cancelled operators must provide alternative transport to their destination or accommodation where they reasonably can. Across the day Avanti has reduced self-caused cancellations to 4.2 per cent in early March, but still needs to do more to win back passengers with a reliable and dependable service.

Train operating companies plan the formations for their rolling stock deployment, using their available fleet to match expected demand. Planned and unplanned adjustments to this may occur for a range of reasons such as engineering works, special events, faults or failures. When making the decision to alter the number of coaches on a train service, train operating companies provide advice to customer information systems wherever possible, but there is no stipulated requirement for a discrete notice period.

Operators aim to understand and mitigate resource availability as far out as possible but circumstances such as training, sickness, other restrictions, and emergency releases as well as other external factors can change the position right up until the day of travel. Disruption is further exacerbated by inflexible working practices and terms and conditions, which is why workforce reforms are vital to build a better, more reliable railway for passengers.

This information is publicly available through The Office of Rail and Road's data portal. It can be found at the following link:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/.

Avanti West Coast has reported a total of 459 full cancelations compared to 11,325 planned services since 1 January 2023 attributed to staff shortages.

This information is publicly available through The Office of Rail and Road's data portal. It can be found at:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/.

Whilst the question refers to calendar months, railway performance information is presented in four-weekly rail periods as standard.

This information is publicly available through The Office of Rail and Road's data portal. It can be found at:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/.

Whilst the question refers to calendar months, railway performance information is presented in four-weekly rail periods as standard.

The requirements in terms of notice in the event of a change to the timetable, including planned cancellations, vary depending on the circumstances of the change. They are set out in the contract, and particularly in Schedule 1.2A, which is publicly available and can be found on the Government website at the following link:

GOV.UK - West Coast Partnership 2019 rail franchise agreement

On 11 December Avanti West Coast (AWC) implemented major changes to its timetable, increasing services from four trains per hour to seven trains per hour, which is expected to lead to an improvement in reliability. The delivery of the new timetable has been restricted by strike action and, on non-strike days, bad weather and engineering works, which has meant that passengers are yet to see a sustained improvement.

The Department will review AWC’s operational performance over the term of the Emergency Measures contract as one of the important factors when considering the contractual arrangements for train services on the West Coast Main Line beyond 1 April 2023, recognising that not all factors are within AWC’s control. Whether there has been stable industrial relations and cooperation from Trade Unions will be taken into consideration.