New managing director for Avanti West Coast

Andy Mellors has been appointed Managing Director of rail operator Avanti West Coast with immediate effect.

Andy has previously held senior roles at Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and most recently as Managing Director of FirstGroup’s non-franchised rail businesses. He takes over from Steve Montgomery, First Rail Managing Director who has been acting Avanti Managing Director since September 2022.

From August 2022 Andy has been supporting the senior team at Avanti West Coast in developing and delivering their recovery programme. Performance at Avanti is steadily improving and since the introduction of the new timetable in mid-December, the number of services operated has increased by more than 40% compared to last summer, with more seats and better frequencies.

FirstGroup has also announced