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Avanti West Coast awarded for keeping customers moving by rail on the Settle to Carlisle line

Avanti West Coast has been honoured for running trains on the historic Settle to Carlisle railway to keep customers moving during major engineering works.

The intercity operator won the ‘Delivering for the customer’ category at the regional Spotlight Rail Awards North for continuing to deliver journeys by rail whilst the West Coast Main Line was blocked.

Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company welcomed the Avanti passengers with Welcome to the Settle Carlisle banners at every station along the 72 miles of line.

Renowned for its beautiful scenery, the route was used when Network Rail carried out essential railway improvement work on the main line over 14 days in January, a two-day closure over the Easter weekend, and a further nine-day programme at the end of April.

On these days, Avanti West Coast ran a shuttle service, using their bi-mode Class 805 Evero trains, roughly every two hours non-stop via the Settle to Carlisle route. These trains are able to run on electric or diesel power, therefore with no overhead power wires on the diversionary line, the operator was able to utilise the diesel capability of its new fleet to keep customers moving by rail.

The decision to run these trains was supported by Transport Focus research from 2015, which says passengers strongly prefer to remain on trains, even with diversions. 

January was the first time in over a decade that in-service intercity trains had run on the Settle to Carlisle line. Avanti West Coast collaborated with Network Rail and other operators to deliver this customer-focused approach. The work in the lead up included testing the Evero fleet on the line, carrying out intensive staff training, and creating transport interchange points at new locations such as Lockerbie.

Together with industry partners, Avanti West Coast was able to deliver value for money by reducing the reliance on bus replacement services and maximising existing rail infrastructure to provide a more efficient and seamless transport offer for customers, while maintaining vital links between Scotland, the North West and beyond.

Chris Liptrot, Operations Director at Avanti West Coast said: “A lot of hard work and innovative thinking went into making these Settle to Carlisle diversions a reality, and I am delighted for the team to receive this award and the recognition they deserve.

“Though close working with industry partners, we have created a successful benchmark to continue delivering customer journeys by rail during extensive engineering work on the northern parts of the West Coast Main Line.”