Avanti West Coast is to cut the number of services between London and major cities in the midlands and the north during the Christmas period due to staff shortages

The changes will affect trains running between the capital and Manchester, North Wales, Blackpool and the West Midlands, though no tickets had yet been sold for those services being cut.

It comes weeks after the train operator was awarded a new nine year contract by the government, having first been ordered to develop a recovery plan to improve poor performance.

A spokesperson said the network, which operates primarily on the west coast between London and places like Birmingham and Manchester, said it was a temporary measure designed to avoid having to cancel trains at short notice.

It anticipates a shortfall in staff due to increased historic annual leave agreements and ongoing industrial disputes.

An Avanti spokesperson said: “From 9 December to 31 December we will be removing a small number of services from our timetable, to enable us to run a more reliable service for our customers, and minimise unplanned, short-notice cancellations.

“This is a temporary measure and we’re sorry for any inconvenience to our customers.”

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Avanti said it can still meet capacity by absorbing numbers into other trains, or with coaches on some routes.

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On Saturdays in December Avanti will operate only two trains per hour on the Manchester route, and a further two services have been removed on 23 December.

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On the North Wales route, on weekdays between 11 to 22 December, two trains have been removed and two services will start later on the line or terminate early.

Rail replacement coaches will run between Chester and Wrexham to connect with the part cancelled services and enable passengers to make journeys into London.

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