Avanti West Coast will be nationalised in 2027, not at its 2032 contract limit

Avanti West Coast will be nationalised on 7 March 2027, when the UK government takes over its intercity services from a private contract that could otherwise have run until 2032.

The Department for Transport said the West Coast Main Line operator’s services would come under public control at the first opportunity once its contract term allows, with passengers rather than private shareholders as the priority. From that date, the department said, taxpayers will stop paying fees to a private company.

How the 2023 contract opened the way to March 2027

The current National Rail Contract was awarded to First Trenitalia, which runs trains as Avanti West Coast, in September 2023 and took effect on 15 October that year. In a written statement to Parliament, then transport secretary Mark Harper set a three-year core term and a maximum of nine years. Once the first three years had passed, he added, the minister could end the contract whenever he chose, giving three months’ notice. Harper also said the award depended on Avanti continuing to regain passengers’ confidence, including fewer cancellations and more dependable weekend services.

Avanti gave the exact dates in its own announcement of the contract: the core term ran to 18 October 2026, and the agreement could continue until 17 October 2032 if the department kept approving it. The March 2027 handover therefore falls inside the period in which the contract can be ended, more than five years before its latest possible end date.

Avanti cancellations rose most across Britain in April–June

The Office of Rail and Road put the cancellations score for Great Britain at 4.1% between April and June 2026, 0.9 percentage points higher than a year earlier. The measure counts a train cancelled outright as one and a part-cancelled train as half. Reliability worsened at 21 operators, and Avanti West Coast recorded the largest increase, up 3.3 percentage points on the same quarter of 2025.

The government’s own assessment points beyond the operator. The department says performance on the route still lags the industry average and that infrastructure faults linked to long-term underinvestment are the main source of disruption, causing one in three delays on the West Coast Main Line. Public ownership, it argues, will bring track and train closer together on the corridor.

Investment plan and the next transfers

The handover comes with an improvement plan. It adds £10 million for power and signalling maintenance by the end of 2027. That money comes on top of £840 million already committed to infrastructure on the line. Timetable changes intended to make journeys to and from Manchester faster and more reliable will start in December 2026. London Euston is to receive £50 million over three years, starting with £11 million for extra seats, improved waiting areas and upgraded toilets, while other stations on the route will share £10 million before the end of 2027. Low earth orbit satellite technology is planned to strengthen onboard wifi and 5G coverage.

Avanti West Coast will follow six operators whose services have already moved into public ownership under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, most recently Chiltern Railways on 20 September 2026. Great Western Railway is due to transfer on 13 December 2026, and the department’s programme page shows it expects to complete the transfers of its contracted operators by the end of 2027. Transferred services go to a new publicly owned company within DfT Operator Limited.

Avanti West Coast is the next scheduled transfer after Great Western Railway, making it the eighth operator in the published sequence so far. Dates: Department for Transport programme page (updated 20 September 2026) and Avanti West Coast announcement (28 September 2026).

Avanti managing director Andy Mellors said in a company statement that the operator was proud of its six years on the route, citing the refurbished Pendolino fleet, the new Evero trains and the largest number of services it has run. He said Avanti would cooperate closely with the government on a smooth handover in the coming months while keeping its attention on customers and communities.