AVANTI West Coast has been awarded a long-term contract, prompting criticism from City of Chester MP Sam Dixon.

The Department for Transport sighted 'significant improvements for passengers' as the reason for the extension, which will begin on October 15 and run for a core term of three years and a maximum possible term of nine years.

In a debate in the House of Commons, Samantha Dixon MP for the City of Chester has spoken out against the latest extension to the contract.

Ms Dixon said: "The right hon. Member for Clwyd West (Mr Jones) and I have worked for many years on the issues surrounding rail connectivity covering Chester and North Wales and, since I arrived in this House in December, I have not seen any improvement."

Referring to recent cancellations over August and September, Ms Dixon continued:

"The Minister talked about micromanaging situations, but the reality is that the Government do not seem to have understood what happened to Chester and North Wales during the summer. The decision was taken to cancel through trains, which fundamentally affected tourism and the visitor economy, not just for Chester but across North Wales.

"To be honest, that smacks of gaming the figures, and my constituents and those across North Wales are absolutely staggered that this contract has been re-awarded to Avanti West Coast. I simply do not understand that something as business-critical and as important to local residents can fail to take into account the realities of travelling across Cheshire and North Wales."

The cuts, which were announced in July, affected four trains a day on the North Wales line from July 24 until September 8.

Avanti defended the cuts saying that two of these services were trains from Wrexham, which joined up with another service at Chester, meaning these cancellations did not affect service levels on the Chester to London route.

The remaining two included a part cancellation, meaning customers from London had to change at Crewe and the 17.32pm service from Chester, which the operator says is one of its most lightly used.

Commenting on the extension announcement, Avanti West Coast Managing Director Andy Mellors said: "The National Rail Contract for the West Coast Partnership announced today provides stability for customers and colleagues as we continue to rebuild trust as well as confidence.

"Over the last six months, we have delivered significant and sustained improvements in operational performance and customer satisfaction. Cancellations that Avanti West Coast is responsible for have stabilised at below two percent of scheduled services. The last year has been challenging but I would like to thank our customers as well as stakeholders for their patience.

"There are still challenges ahead but plenty to look forward to on our network including customer benefits such as the continued award-winning refurbishment of our Pendolinos and the introduction of our new Hitachi fleet, which will increase capacity and further improve our sustainability credentials."

Following the debate in the House of Commons, Sam Dixon MP added: "We have a broken rail system and a Government that rewards failure. Everyone I speak to in Chester has a story to tell of unreliable Avanti services. For the Government not to take into consideration the reality of so many rail users across Cheshire and North Wales is baffling.

"We need to fix our rail system and put passengers first by bringing the railways into public ownership."