However combination of poor performance and the upcoming abolition of the franchise system has resulted in the contract expiry being revised to October 2026, before the completion of HS2.

Its services connect six of the largest cities in the UK: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million.

[9] During April 2019, it was announced that the incumbent Stagecoach-led bid had been disqualified after it had proposed significant changes to the commercial terms, specially in regards to staff pensions.

[12][13] In August 2019, the DfT awarded the franchise to the First Trenitalia consortium with Avanti West Coast to commence operations on 8 December 2019.

[16][17] In December 2019 it was announced that the CMA had approved the franchise's award; concerns that limited competition on some routes could lead to higher fares and less availability of cheaper tickets were offset by the agreement of price caps to be present in some regions.

[29][30] In response, the company appealed for the general public to avoid the railways for non-essential travel on the affected dates, these being 21, 23, and 25 June, as only a minimal service could be run due to the number of staff choosing not to work.

[32][33] Between 14 August and 18 September 2022, Avanti West Coast reduced its timetable, citing unofficial strike action from its employees.

Following these changes, Avanti West Coast was subject to public criticism; news stories emerged of numerous train cancellations, overcrowded services, delays, and expensive fares.

[citation needed] The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, expressed his frustration at the operator and explained his intention to ask the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to strip Avanti West Coast of their franchise.

[38] According to figures released by the Office of Rail and Road on 12 November 2022, Avanti West Coast had the worst record of train cancellations in the year prior to this date.

All the Class 221 Super Voyagers were replaced by 23 new trains from the Hitachi A-train family with maintenance taking place at Alstom's Oxley TRSMD depot in Wolverhampton.