The government has been accused of “washing its hands of responsibility” after a major train operator slashed its intercity timetable and suspended ticket operations over summer. 

Labour’s shadow transport minister Louise Haigh told Sky News it is a “disgrace major cities are being cut off” after Avanti West Coast reduced its routes connecting London to places including Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

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The Department for Transport (DfT) has said it will respond in due course to a request from local leaders calling for a meeting with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to discuss the full reinstatement of the services, or failing that, a withdrawal of the operator’s contract.

Avanti has suspended ticket sales for travel from this Sunday until 11 September while a new schedule is finalised.

The company has been heavily criticised for blaming the “current industrial relations climate” and “unofficial strike action” for staff shortages.

The Aslef union said no strikes are taking place and Avanti has not employed enough drivers to deliver its promised services.

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About 400 of the operator’s services each week rely on drivers working overtime for extra pay – but that number has “dropped dramatically”, limiting its ability to operate, the train company has admitted.

Labour frontbencher Ms Haigh told Sky News: “This is a disgrace – major cities are being cut off, and the private operator is busy blaming the workforce for their own mismanagement.

“This hapless government cannot continue to wash their hands of responsibility, nor reward failure without consequences. It’s time they put passengers first.

“They should demand a plan from the operator to urgently restore these services, claw-back taxpayers’ money being handed over for services that aren’t running, and if the private operator cannot fulfil their contract, they have no business holding it.”

She also tweeted that it was “literally impossible to buy a ticket between major cities in the UK”.

Avanti said it was reducing its service in an effort to stop short-notice cancellations that have been plaguing passengers in recent weeks.

The company said it expects tickets for August 14-20 to be back on sale by the end of this week and that tickets for the following weeks will be released on a weekly basis.

But the move has be described as a “national outrage” by regional politicians, who accused the rail firm of failing to consult them.

In a letter to Mr Shapps, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said if the service is not restored it risks inflicting “enormous disruption and economic damage” at a critical time in the cities’ recovery from the COVID pandemic.

They said people attending Manchester Pride and London’s Notting Hill Carnival would be affected, as well as sports fans and tourists visiting attractions in both cities.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has also written to Mr Shapps, saying the situation “on what is supposed to be the country’s premier intercity rail network is completely unacceptable”.

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An Avanti spokesperson said: “From 14 August until further notice, we will be introducing a reduced timetable on our services.

“As a result of the majority of drivers making themselves unavailable for overtime in a co-ordinated fashion, and at short notice, our customers have faced multiple short-notice cancellations which has had a severe impact on their plans.

“The reduced timetable is being introduced to ensure a reliable service is delivered so our customers can travel with greater certainty.”

Sky News has contacted the Department for Transport for comment.

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