Milton Keynes North MP Ben Everitt has spoken in the House Of Commons to demand Avanti West Coast provides a better, more reliable service for his constituents in Milton Keynes or face being stripped of their contract.
In recent months, Ben has received lots of correspondence from residents about the poor service being provided to and from Milton Keynes Central, and revealed he has experienced this himself on numerous occasions.
He wrote to Avanti urging them to improve their performance and called on the Government to remove their contract if they don’t. Avanti have apologised to the local MP for the current service, and it has since been confirmed there are plans in place for improvements.
Ben also shared the experiences of some of his constituents, including one who has ended up driving 46 miles to Cockfosters every day and getting the tube into London from there, and another who now commutes via coach.
In a speech in the House Of Commons during a backbench debate on Avanti, Ben Everitt MP said: “I’m speaking on behalf of the thousands of constituents who rely on their rail services and in particular the West Coast Main Line and who are being let down, just thoroughly let down and deserve a far better service.
“As one of the major, and indeed the newest, city along the West Coast Main Line, Milton Keynes is serviced by both Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern, however if my constituents are lucky enough even to have a train turn up at all, these trains are often delayed, unreliable and overcrowded.
“I urge the Government to continue to actively monitor their service on this line and more importantly hold them to account so if we do not see drastic improvements to the reliability, punctuality and frequency of this service, that contract is removed.”
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