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A train service transporting daily travelers from London from Manchester is set to run empty for approximately five months due to a determination by the rail regulator.

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road means the 07:00 GMT train operated by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London will still operate but will only be used to transport employees starting mid-December.

An Avanti West Coast representative expressed they were "let down" with the decision, which would "clearly impact those customers who already use these trains".

An ORR official indicated the judgment was based on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential service disruption on the key rail corridor.

Network Rail did not provide a statement.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The fast service, which reaches the capital in under two hours, will continue to leave from Manchester station at 7:00 AM on weekday mornings, but will not open to commuters.

It will, instead, ferry company employees from London from Manchester when the updated schedule takes effect on December 15th.

The ruling implies the train could run for over a hundred journeys without fare-paying customers on the train.

An Avanti West Coast representative clarified they were disappointed with the ORR's decision not to grant operational permissions from December for several daily trains they currently operated, including the 07:00 fast service from London from Manchester.

The regulatory body also mandated a weekend train which presently operates from Holyhead to London to terminate at Crewe, they noted.

"This will clearly impact those passengers who currently rely on these trains," they stated.

"However, we will still be delivering additional services across our network from the beginning of the December timetable, including further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative confirmed that the services being removed were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool North – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston ends at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Rationale

An regulatory official stated: "Our ruling on the Manchester-London train was based on comprehensive data submitted by Network Rail that introducing trains within 'buffer' slots on the main rail line would have a detrimental impact on performance.

"We identified that this train would operate within one of those time slots. If the operator runs the service as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (held back or redirected) than a scheduled public train.

"This can assist with performance management and service recovery during incidents."

The regulator said Avanti was earlier granted the permission to run this service from May 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle only.

This was on the basis that First Lumo's Stirling services were not running at the moment but the First Lumo services are anticipated to start operating during the winter 2025 timetable period.

The ORR added that under the updated schedule, additional independent train services, operated by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.