Aslef says Avanti West Coast is ‘lying’ after firm blames service cuts on strikes

Train driver's union speaks out as London to Manchester service scaled back to one an hour

The train drivers' union Aslef has called Avanti West Coast lying cheapskates" after the rail operator slashed its intercity timetables, blaming unofficial strike action".

Avanti, which runs services on the west coast mainline between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, has suspended ticket sales and said it would run as few as four trains an hour from Sunday to try to cut the growing number of short-notice cancellations experienced in recent weeks.