Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast
	Class 390 Pendolino and a Class 805 Evero at Stafford, 2025
Overview
Franchise	West Coast Partnership
Main regions	Greater London; North West England; Scotland; South East England; West Midlands;
Other regions	East Midlands; East of England; Wales;
Fleet	Class 390 Pendolino; Class 805 Evero; Class 807 Evero;
Stations called at	46
Stations operated	16
Parent company	FirstGroup (70%); Trenitalia (30%);
Headquarters	London
Reporting mark	VT
Dates of operation	8 December 2019–18 October 2026
Predecessor	Virgin Trains
Other
Website	www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk
Route map
Route map

First Trenitalia West Coast Rail, trading as Avanti West Coast, is a British train operating company and franchise that operates the West Coast Partnership. The company is owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) but is in the process of being nationalised as part of the abolition of passenger rail franchising in Great Britain; Avanti West Coast routes will be taken over by Great British Railways by October 2027.

Avanti West Coast provides the principal long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland. Its services connect six of the largest cities in the UK – London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh – which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million.

Avanti West Coast began services in December 2019, at which time it inherited 56 Class 390 Pendolino high speed electric multiple units and 20 Class 221 Super Voyager diesel-electric multiple units from Virgin Trains. The 390s underwent major refurbishment between 2021 and 2024, and in 2024 the 221s were replaced with new Class 805 bi-mode multiple units and Class 807 electric multiple units.