Avanti West Coast Reviews 

3,182
TrustScore 2 out of 5

1.9

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 416 reviews, most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Travelers expressed extreme frustration regarding constant delays, cancellations, and exorbitant ticket prices that did not match the quality delivered. People also described terrible conditions on board, including broken air conditioning during hot weather and poorly managed station transfers. Some reviewers were happy with the helpful and professional staff who made their journeys much more enjoyable. A few customers additionally pointed out pleasant trips featuring comfortable seating, polite service from train managers, and punctual arrivals. Passengers occasionally mentioned positive interactions when receiving assistance at stations or experiencing smooth rides without any issues.

What people talk about most

Service

Reviewers mention negative feedback about service, highlighting frequent cancellations, severe delays, and... See more

Staff

Clients share ambiguous opinions on staff, with some consumers reporting helpful and efficient experiences,... See more

Location

Customers had ambiguous experiences with location during their various journeys. Many travellers frequently... See more

Price

Users describe negative interactions with price, noting that ticket costs are hideously expensive and... See more

Customer service

Consumers find customer service to be exceptionally poor, with many reviewers reporting frustrating... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I have a number of continual issue with this company and these are that they don’t issue a receipt when you book online. They come out with some garbage that you can use a screenshot of the itine... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Another ticket booked another delay, staff incredibly rude,arrogant, incompetent, out of their depth. Don't follow their own rules.. If your train is delayed they said you can grab the one earlier, y... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Avanti West Coast closed my case after a serious privacy breach and aggressive behaviour from one of their staff. He rudely tapped a young guy beside me three times to wake him for his ticket, then tu... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely shocking. Late leaving Euston and it took 45 minutes to get from Coventry to New Street! I travelled 1000k on European trains yesterday and this was the most painful part of the journey.... See more


Company details

  1. Railroad Company

Written by the company

Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup and Trenitalia. Buy train tickets and find train times with no booking fees and rewards when you travel. Travel in style across the UK.


Contact info

1.9

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

3K reviews

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No recent history of asking for reviews

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Hasn’t replied to negative reviews

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1.9

All reviews

(3,182)

385 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Tonight has been a nightmare as a…

Tonight has been a nightmare as a disabled traveller,
I was put on a coach with 50 other people from Chester to Warrington bank quay knowing no trains could run through to Manchester due to.points and track issues
Stress impacts my condition
Chester said you will have a train waiting
All lies
Thankfully a wonderful team leader Mat came to my rescue
I had called rail enquiries twice who told me I was entitled to carriage home
Ie ,taxi
And all the other entitlemts a disabled person should be offeted if stranded
Mat booked me a taxi to.home
The taxi service
Star taxis were fabulous
So thank you
Mat, he was under awful pressure

July 13, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

genuinely the worst train ever every 4…

genuinely the worst train ever every 4 hour train ride becomes a 6 and a half hour with multiple delays, the toilets dont flush, the seats are incredibly painful, for such an expensive train this is ABYSMAL. the wifi doesnt work at all, i dread this train everytime i go on it

July 13, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Worst train company ever

Worst train company ever! Wrong information on board at Euston...suddenly Glasgow train changed to Preston no announcement you were just supposed to know.. what they do is if not busy enough they turn back the train at Preston. Hideous panic at Euston...I'm 73 and can't get to platform in 3 mins with suitcases. Inhuman in their treatment of passengers Broken loo on train. Dreadful experience .never again !

July 13, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Total shambles

If I could give a negative score, I would. Our journey from Glasgow to London on a Friday took nearly 10 hours. During that journey the train broke down then the next train was affected by signal failure. On the second train the buffet car closed early, despite being restocked 100 mile plus short of London. Some of the cars had no air con and the temperature was touching 30°C. Some of the bathrooms were out of action and they ran out of toilet paper in some that were open.

Our return journey was also affected by a failure at Watford Junction. It left 45 mins late. There was mayhem with seat availability and again coach F had no air con. Little or no information about seat availability and plenty of upset travellers not able to take their booked seats.

Yes the carriage doors were locked open & water passed out, but this did nothing to alleviate the heat. Some people chose to stand in air conditioned coaches than sit in our coach. Also there was no hot water for those wanting a hot drink!

A total shambles of a company and service. Despite the inconvenience for us to travel down the east coast, we will take that option in the future and NEVER repeat NEVER use Avanti West Coast trains again.

July 13, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Avanti West Coast To The Rescue!

Avanti West Coast staff members Michael D and Gabrielle and Huseyin the Taxi Driver rescued us! We had a very bad experience recently when our Northern train from Morecambe was cancelled leaving us stranded. The station at Morecambe was unstaffed and the call centre advisors for the Northern Railway phone numbers we found did nothing to help. We managed to get as far as the Lancaster station and the Northern train conductors pointed us to the Avanti West Coast staff office. Thankfully we found two extremely helpful members of Avanti staff: Michael D and Gabrielle! They quickly helped us by offering to book a taxi to get us back home. The cost of this was completely covered and Michael D ran back and forth keeping us updated us the arrival time of the taxi. Both Michael D and Gabrielle took the time to chat with us while we waited for the taxi, keeping us calm as it was now very late at night. The taxi arrived and we were greeted by a fantastic driver called Huseyin! What a brilliant driver with a really high standard of customer service - chatting with us both on the return taxi journey so the time flew by! Michael D, Gabrielle and Huseyin rapidly turned around a nightmare situation into a really pleasant experience - so our day out to the seaside was not spoilt by becoming stranded! Many thanks to you all for rescuing us! :)

July 11, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

More than half the trains I catch are…

More than half the trains I catch are delayed or cancelled between Manchester and London,
The delay repay system is complicated to use if you book on another platform like Trainline, to save on the extortionate costs of peak train time travel, a necessary factor when commuting for work.

June 1, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Another horrible experience on Avanti West Coast

Another horrible experience on the incompetent Avanti West Coast London to Glasgow service. Air conditioning not working and had to endure four hours in 38° Celsius. The train broke down at Wigan and had to be ‘reset’ eventually arriving at my Penrith destination 53 minutes late. Can’t wait for the franchise of this dysfunctional service to be brought back into public ownership

July 11, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Summy practices

Scummy, unacceptable poor service. On the 9th left around 10:30 is from Euston to Wigan North Western. Arrived at 2pm after 2 delays, fire near Rugby, then supposed tresspasers on the tracks. Fine. Happens. Filed a claim which of course they have downgraded from 1.5h delay to under 1h delay just to pay out less. Not only that but they send you a link to say you can appeal. You follow it to find out you cannot. Despite it being your right to do so. Clink on link why can't I appeal? Of course - doesn't work. Now the kicker. On the way back on the 10th. Again leaving similar time, got on the overcrowded, overbooked train, driver apologised, we were supposed to have 11 carriges but ended up with 9. Enjoy standing or sitting on the floor in 30+ degree heat. I think I'll try my luck trvelling by donkey next time - It would have been a more plesant journey. Oh. And their card reader didnt work on a way back so couldn't even buy a water. Stellar performance by this rail company. Do not recommend.

July 9, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Great on-board staff and nice trains

I travelled Avanti West Coast yesterday on the 1830 off Euston for Glasgow. There were delays because of a line side fire in Cheshire which couldn't be helped.

The on-board crew handled the issue really well. Communication throughout the journey was excellent and staff kept up a good nature whilst all around them was going a bit haywire including the guard and driver making a very important and correct safety decision at Stafford. Train was comfy and.cool too.

July 11, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I’m only giving 1 star because there…

I’m only giving 1 star because there isn’t an option for no stars. This company’s a total disgrace. Unfortunately I have to travel the west coast mainline regularly and it is never a pleasure. Constant delays, poor service, terrible toilets. How are they even allowed to operate. Currently six hours into a three and a half hour journey. Absolutely packed train, people sitting on the floor. No concern for passengers at all. A COMPLETE SHAMBLES.

July 10, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Minus 5 would be generous !!

If minus stars where available -5 would be too many for this diabolically run excuse for a rail company . I would recommend ANY other form of transport to Avanti West Coast .Late , delayed , cancelled , broken , discourteous , ill informed , ill equipped , rude , contemptuous AVOID AVOID AVOID

July 10, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This is a terrible service

This is a terrible service. Booked First Class, told I needed to move two carriages from my booked seat because they couldn’t be bothered delivering catering to three carriages. Jammed into a half carriage with no room and no apologies. They are also constantly late. I would say this company needs to be regulated and thrown out of business. Flying is a better option.

July 10, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Train falling apart

Broken seat (in 1st class). Fridges broken so no cold drinks. Train massively overcrowded. All this cost £180. What a joke. Avoid at all costs

July 9, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Professional and charming end to a nightmare trip

I booked a super off peak return ticket between Ashford International and Birmingham New Street on 8 July 26. My return trip became a nightmare as a combination of train delays and cancellations most heat related. I eventually arrived at Euston at 00:40 well after departure of the last train out of St Pancras. I presented myself to Avanti customer service. Without hesitation iI was escorted by a friendly, smiling Kevin to a taxi rank. An incident-free drive took me to my front door in Ashford, arriving ot 02:20.
Sincere thanks for the professional and charminng end to my nightmare train trip. Greatly appreciated

July 8, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They operate with impunity. Avoid if you possibly can.

Just been through the Rail Ombudsman regarding the fiasco on 8th May from Euston. The RO isn't really fit for purpose, but they kind of ruled in my favour. The issue was that Avanti did not give a damn about leaving passengers stranded with no guidance, alternative routes, or help on that day. They are the worst train company I have ever had the misfortune of traveling with. They have the monopoly on rail travel from the North to London and seem to operate a shoddy, unreliable, expensive service with impunity. The best thing that could happen to them is losing the franchise and it being brought back into public ownership. Seriously, if you have any alternative means of travel, take it. At least you know you will get to your destination and won't be stranded there when it's time to make the return journey.

May 8, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A very enjoyable train journey with excellent stall

We caught the 1202 from Euston to Chester. We got a table seat for tge four of us and then had the pleasure of meeting Patrick the train manager and Tim the assistant train manager. What lovely people they are and a credit to the company. One thing to note was the temperature of the carriage we were in Even though it was incredibly not outside the temperature inside was perfect

July 8, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Passenger assist-what an excellent service

Myself and friend booked passenger assistance for our holiday from Northampton to the Isleof Man from 1st July to 6th July. The service was excellent and the staff were fantastic and waiting for us at every change. Special thanks to Katie on the Lancaster to Birmingham leg who gave us personal service after we had got into the wrong coach. All the others including Malcolm, Jordan and Mark were great. Thank you. We will be using the service again. Ann and Pam

July 6, 2026
Unprompted review

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