City and business leaders on the West Coast Main Line have sent a letter of protest to transport secretary Grant Shapps after Avanti West Coast said it was cutting back its timetables, with trains on most lines running once an hour at best from Sunday. There will be very few services on Saturday because ASLEF will be on strike. Avanti has apologised, but is blaming high levels of staff absenteeism and ‘unofficial strike action’ by drivers.
