The Labour Party is planning to begin its rolling programme of nationalising private sector passenger operators with Avanti West Coast, if it wins the election. Owned by FirstGroup and Trenitalia, the former franchise was only given a National Rail Contract in September last year, which began on 15 October and was to run for at least three years, with extensions possible until October 2032. Transport for the North has already urged the government to end the Avanti operation, because of its performance problems.