Avanti West Coast’s Alternative Sustainable Team Travel Options

Avanti West Coast, operator of intercity rail services on the west coast main line delivers a cleaner, greener railway that serves key UK cities, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow as well as North Wales.

fcbusiness speaks to Avanti West Coast’s Operations and Service Delivery Manager, Alex Monro-Jones, about how the operator is helping to deliver football clubs a more environmentally friendly alternative for their transportation needs.

How does Avanti West Coast position rail as the default choice for professional football team travel, compared with domestic flights or coach travel?

When it comes to travel, there is rarely a default choice as clubs choose their travel provider based on several factors such as budget and fixtures. The manager often has the final say on how the team will travel to an away game. At Avanti West Coast, we work to ensure the booking process and journey is as efficient as possible, so that once clubs experience how enjoyable and relaxing rail travel is, they never look back. We can also arrange bespoke catering options and liaise with security teams in advance, and on the day, to ensure a seamless journey that is tailored to their specific needs.

What commercial or operational considerations matter most to football clubs when choosing rail—cost, reliability, privacy, or carbon impact?

Commercial and operational factors matter to football clubs. At Avanti West Coast we have a range of options in Standard, Standard Premium and First Class to accommodate all budgets and resources across different leagues. In terms of reliability, we ensure our operational colleagues are aware of teams travelling on the network so they can closely monitor the progress of their journey. When football clubs travel in an exclusive carriage they are accompanied by an Avanti West Coast host who can help them with alternative arrangements, if necessary. Access to an exclusive carriage also offers complete privacy for the team during their journey. Some stations across our route have non-public entrances and exits. With football clubs planning away travel, rail is a good option to support their efforts to reduce their carbon impact.

How do you quantify the carbon savings of transporting football teams by rail, and how important is that data in conversations with clubs and leagues?

As a rail industry, we have access to the Green Travel Data carbon calculator to compare the emissions of a rail journey against an equivalent car journey and flights (where flights are available). We share this with football clubs wishing to measure their carbon impact, which can help with conversations about rail being a sustainable transport choice.

What operational adaptations are needed to accommodate elite sports teams and how do those impact efficiency?

Communication is key to our operations when accommodating sports teams. We ensure all relevant internal and external stakeholders are made aware of a club’s travel plans, but information is limited to ensure privacy. This enables additional resources to be put in place, if necessary, and allow for a seamless end-to-end journey. At Avanti West Coast, we always aim to be flexible if there are fixture postponements or last-minute requests from football clubs while ensuring there is minimal impact on other customers. A lot of planning goes into providing travel for football teams, so that it can be accommodated alongside our usual operation and with minimal impact.

Can the requirements of football teams help accelerate service innovations that later benefit corporate or leisure passengers?

Football clubs were our first clients to request exclusive carriages for their journeys. The learnings and experience from this have enabled us to now support large corporate events and leisure groups travelling by rail. At Avanti West Coast we can offer a bespoke experience to large groups alongside our usual operation.

How do you balance premium, bespoke travel for teams with the optics of inclusivity and public service on a shared rail network?

We want everyone who travels with us to have the best possible experience. Communication is vital to delivering that while balancing bespoke travel with our usual operation. We work closely with different teams across the business at every stage, from the initial enquiry through to the team’s departure from the destination station. This allows us to meet the needs of football clubs and avoid any impact on our customers and services. Our hosts help ensure both the football team and customers have comfortable journeys when travelling on the same train.

Do you see football clubs as influential partners in changing wider public travel behaviour around sustainability?

While we always try to keep the travel arrangements of a football club private, other passengers do sometimes become aware of a team making their journey with us. It can be impactful for people to see Premier League football clubs using sustainable transport – with fans inspired to follow their team’s chosen travel option. Some clubs lean into their position as role models by highlighting their rail journey to show they have made a green transport choice, which can help to spread the sustainability message further.

Looking ahead, how do you expect sustainability requirements from leagues, sponsors, or regulators to reshape how professional sports teams travel?

Football clubs are currently facing more fixtures than ever before during the season. This requires more travel and may mean the football industry introduces targets to address the impact this has on the environment. This provides us with an opportunity to help clubs reduce their carbon emissions. We’re committed to being a reliable and trusted transport choice for football clubs travelling to away fixtures. By highlighting the benefits of rail travel, including the positive impact it can have on the environment, we hope to encourage more professional sports teams to make their journeys with us.

Could rail-based travel become a competitive or reputational differentiator for clubs in the future – and how is Avanti preparing for that?

With more fans being socially conscious and considering the environmental impact of travelling to and from games, rail could be seen as a reputational differentiator for football clubs in the future. If a club can say they travelled by rail to a fixture, it shows their supporters they take sustainability seriously. By choosing a greener mode of transport, it demonstrates they are committed to reducing their impact on the environment.

www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/tickets-andsavings/group-travel/avanti-vip