Avanti West Coast (AWC) should have its licence to operate the West Coast Main Line route removed “at the earliest possible opportunity,” Transport for the North (TfN) has said.

The group, which represents leaders from transport, business and politics across the north of England, said that passengers have endured months of poor performance from the operator.

“A continuation of the current situation is unacceptable to the north,” a report to the TfN board stated.

It considered two options including setting a target for improvement by June or immediately terminating the contract for poor performance. It opted for the latter after hearing from Avanti’s managing director Steve Montgomery.

TfN plans to write to transport secretary Mark Harper calling for the AWC contract to be terminated and replaced with the operator of last resort (OLR) – a public body that operates rail franchises when a train operating company is no longer able to do so.

Since rail privatisation in the mid-1990s, there have...