It gets said a lot, but this really is everything wrong with Britain today. The chief executives at two of the country’s worst performing rail services have claimed more than £1 million each in wages in bonuses, despite their shocking track records.
Bosses of Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry have been handsomely rewarded for their questionable efforts regarding service delivery. A spokesperson for the former has stated that a ‘strong financial performance’ helped facilitate these payments.
Avanti have recently been in the cross hairs of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is pushing for the company to lose their contract with the government. The Labour politician told the firm’s managing director some home truths when they met last month:
“Your company has inflicted huge damage on our economy… since the timetable collapsed in 2022. All the things you said then you’re saying again today. Trust is low. You’re not fixing issues on the most important railway line in the country.” | Andy Burnham
ALSO READ: Andy Burnham calls for ‘full nationalisation’ of UK’s train network
Figures shared by the Daily Mirror this weekend truly do have to be seen to be believed. Avanti are leading the way on cancellations, after more than 16,000 services were terminated from March 2023 to March 2024.
First Group own Avanti, and their CEO Graham Sutherland took home £1.2 million in salary and bonuses last year.
Meanwhile, CrossCountry have also racked up the cancellations. Over 9,000 journeys were aborted in the previous 12 months, taking the total between the two companies beyond the 25,000 benchmark.
Arriva own CrossCountry, and their CEO Mike Cooper had to make do with a little less than his counterpart, raking in £1.1 million in salary and bonus payments last year. It’s nice work if you can get it.
