Transport operator FirstGroup said it had agreed with the UK government to continue its contract for the West Coast Partnership (WCP) until next March.
The deal includes the operation of Avanti West Coast, which is operating under an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA) introduced to support it during the Covid pandemic.
Avanti last month asked the government ministers to relieve it from performance target deadlines, as it was hit by driver shortages.
The contract extension, which was due to expire on 16 October, will run broadly under the same terms.
“We are committed to working closely with government and our partners across the industry to deliver a successful railway that serves the needs of our customers and communities” said, FirstGroup chief executive Graham Sutherland.
“Today’s agreement allows our team at Avanti West Coast to sustain their focus on delivering their robust plan to restore services to the levels that passengers rightly expect.”
Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com
