Events and conferences worth tens of thousands of pounds to the Manchester economy are being cancelled because of unreliable train services to and from London, one of the city's most senior business figures has warned.
Chris Oglesby, the chief executive of property giant Bruntwood, revealed the impact the continued cancellations of Avanti West Coast trains are having on Manchester's economy in a letter to Transport Secretary Mark Harper.
Read more: Avanti West Coast cancels services at the weekend due to national strikes
The chair of the Manchester Business Sounding Board appealed to the Conservative Minister to "take action to address the serious economic damage that is being caused by the continuing failure of our train services in the North and between the North and London".
He added that the "current situation is worse than anything we have experienced" and that performance is "worse even than after the May 2018 timetabling fiasco".
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Since August, Avanti West Coast has cut the number of services between London Euston and Manchester from one every 20 minutes to one an hour as well as limiting ticket sales because of a lack of staff to drive and run the trains.
Mr Oglesby wrote that problems "caused by timetabling cuts, lack of tickets, overbooked seats, strikes, last minute cancellations and delays" have led to "an almost complete collapse in confidence in the rail network as a means of transport for business and leisure".
And he added: "The consequences of the current crisis, almost every company is feeling the effects - either in terms of business being more difficult to do, staff being unable to get to work, increased costs and long term damage to Manchester’s reputation as a place to invest."
As an example, Mr Oglesby says a major accountancy firm's staff had cut all travel to the North West and cancelled a client conference for over 120 businesses in Manchester "because it was not possible to rely on people being able to travel from London".
He added: "The conference will be rescheduled at a later date but in all likelihood in London. Twenty five companies hosting conferences have all reported disruption and cancellation of events. One conference alone was worth £35k to the company and much more to Manchester’s wider economy."
One group of investors were forced to come from London to Manchester by minibus, while a major US investor who regularly travels between the two cities to oversee projects has now switched to travelling by car and "much less frequently, potentially delaying investment decisions and the growth that comes with these".
People are routinely travelling from Manchester to London via Leeds and Sheffield, adding extra time and inconvenience, while cultural attractions are being hit by people cancelling their plans at the last minute because they can't get home.
Commuting into Manchester has also been badly affected, with the commuter line from Glossop seeing its peak time services reduced to one per hour and trains so full people are either turning to the car or not travelling.
Mr Oglesby wrote: "Many are switching to the car, even when they have rail season tickets, and we have even got examples of previously single car households buying a second car because the trains are no longer practical."
Summing up, he told the Transport Secretary: "A number of investors and corporates have told me that they are picking up a new concern about the North West not being a good place to invest because of the difficulties in travelling to and between the cities.
"This is particularly serious given the role Manchester plays in the North West economy and for the UK generally."
Train reliability in Britain reached the worst level on record after another month of disruption, with Avanti the worst individual operator for cancellations over the 12 months to October 15.
It was affected by short-notice cancellations due to drivers refusing to volunteer for overtime shifts and has introduced a reduced timetable.
The Department for Transport (DfT) gave the company until April 1 next year to improve its services when it issued a short-term contract extension last month.
Avanti hopes to return to three trains an hour between Manchester and London when a new timetable kicks in on December 12, but says this is reliant on unions agreeing rosters.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “For too long, rail passengers in the North of England have not had acceptable levels of service.
“The Transport Secretary will soon be travelling to meet northern metro mayors to hear their concerns first hand so, together, we can provide the reliable service passengers across the region deserve.”
Read more: A year after Boris Johnson broke promises to the North and our railways are still failing us
