Avanti West Coast is set to enhance its North Wales route this month, with the addition of more services and the deployment of its new Evero trains.
From Sunday 18 May, the intercity operator will introduce 12 additional weekly services between Holyhead and London – a 17% increase in capacity. Chester will also benefit from two extra services from the capital at weekends.
The timetable changes include:
- Two extra weekday services between Holyhead and London Euston, including an early morning arrival in the capital before 9am.
- A strengthened 5pm weekday departure from Euston to ten carriages, as far as Chester.
- Two additional Saturday trains – one from Holyhead to London and one from London to Chester.
- One Holyhead service extended to London and one extra train from London to Chester on Sundays.
The move coincides with greater use of Avanti West Coast’s £350 million Evero fleet on the route. The upgrade will provide a total of 5,890 extra seats each week between North Wales, Chester and London.
Built by Hitachi, the Evero trains offer more spacious and quieter journeys compared to the Voyager fleet they replace. Onboard improvements include wireless charging, enhanced Wi-Fi, more legroom, larger luggage storage, and clearer customer information screens. Accessibility has also been improved, with upgraded wheelchair spaces, accessible toilets, and Braille and large-print seat labels.
Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, joined Avanti staff onboard an Evero train ahead of the May timetable launch.
Nick Smith, Regional Growth Manager at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re delighted to be introducing more services between North Wales and London this summer by utilising our new Evero fleet. These additional services not only deliver on our commitment to improve connectivity to the regions we serve but also enhance the experience for our customers, which we hope will encourage more people to travel by train.”
He added: “This latest investment in our North Wales operations continues an exciting chapter for our employees and customers in the region, and we enjoyed marking the occasion by welcoming Ken Skates onboard.”
Cabinet Secretary Ken Skates said: “This is good news. I am pleased to see progress towards the restoration of services to their pre-COVID level.
“Good transport links between North Wales, Chester and the rest of the UK are vital for our economy to thrive and help provide long-term benefits for the region. I meet regularly with Avanti and look forward to working with them to deliver further improvements in service levels in the future.”
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