Avanti contract extended

Possibly a bit of a strong phrase.

I was very surprised when I heard the news, like many I thought it was a certainty that Avanti would lose the contract/franchise. But, like Northern, their performance has picked up significantly since the very, very low point around Christmas time. There seem to have been a heavy pinch point then with a lack of staff and ongoing industrial action, notably the overtime ban.
It is only a 6 month extension- time will tell if Avanti can sustain their improvements, or if the inevitable has simply been delayed.

There has been a considerable improvement since Christmas, although some of that has been masked by the strikes and the maintenance works, neither directly attributable to Avanti.

and they have a new Managing Director - announced last week.