___________________________________________________________________________________________ Avanti
West Coast
The West Coast Main Line is Britain ’ s premier long-distance railway , linking together towns and major cities to create a vital economic artery . Running on this railway is British train operating company Avanti West Coast ( Avanti ), part of the West Coast Partnership , a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia . Before telling us more about the company ’ s progress , Andy Mellors , Managing Director , gives us a brief overview of Avanti ’ s operations .
“ While I have only been the Managing Director at Avanti for 18 months , I have worked in the railway industry my entire working life . I started as a sponsored engineering student approximately 35 years ago , before going on to earn an engineering degree . In the last three decades , I have held numerous positions up and down the country , initially in engineering and then in directorial roles . My career with FirstGroup began just over 20 years ago , a time during which I worked or lived in most of the major cities served by
Avanti , namely London , Liverpool , Manchester , and Glasgow . Therefore , I understand the importance of the railway we operate and the connectivity it provides to these major cities and conurbations . At Avanti , we run longdistance intercity services that connect not just the West Coast Main Line between London , Birmingham , Manchester , Liverpool as well as Glasgow , but also along the North Wales coast to Chester and Holyhead . “ Running around 270 trains every day requires a significant logistical effort to ensure that our trains and staff are in the right place at the right time to provide the best possible service for our customers and communities . However , this is not something we can do alone , as the rail industry is very much a team effort . Network Rail is our infrastructure provider and a particularly crucial partner with whom we work very closely . In addition , we have other key partners like Alstom , who provides and maintains our rolling stock , and Hitachi , who recently built a new fleet of trains for us in the North East of England ,” he explains .
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