Government authorises owner of failing Avanti and TransPennine Express rail franchises to pay itself £65m dividend

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The government authorised the owner of failing rail franchises Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express to pay itself a £65m dividend last year, accounts show. Yet the operator's 2022 accounts show First Rail Holdings Ltd, which runs the two franchises, remitted a total of £65m in dividends payments to its parent company FirstGroup plc. We need change now,” they said, adding: “We are of the unanimous view that TransPennine Express needs to start afresh under new ownership.” In December the mayors of Manchester, London and Birmingham said Avanti should be stripped of its franchise if services were not restored, adding: “They cannot be allowed to continue this chaos into 2023. “Performance at Avanti is steadily improving and, since the introduction of the new timetable in mid-December, the number of services has increased by more than 40 per cent compared to last summer, while TPE’s cancellations have been reduced by 40 per cent since a recovery plan was introduced in early February.” The Department for Transport says certain conditions have to be met before it approves the payments, and notes that the ones listed in the account predate the worst disruption at Avanti and TPE.