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A train service that carries commuters from Manchester to London is set to run empty for around a five-month period due to a determination by the railway oversight authority.

A verdict by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT service run by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London will still operate but will only be used to carry staff from mid-December.

An Avanti West Coast representative stated they were "disappointed" with the outcome, which would "clearly impact those customers who regularly take these services".

An ORR spokesperson explained the decision was based on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to prevent potential operational issues on the key rail corridor.

The infrastructure company declined to comment.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which reaches the capital in less than 120 minutes, will continue to leave from Manchester Piccadilly at 7:00 AM on weekday mornings, but will not open to commuters.

It will, alternatively, ferry company employees from Manchester to London when the new timetable launches on December 15th.

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

An operator spokesperson confirmed they were displeased with the ORR's determination not to grant operational permissions from December for several daily trains they currently operated, including the 07:00 express train from Manchester to London.

The ORR also required a Sunday service which presently operates from London from Holyhead to terminate at Crewe station, they noted.

"This will clearly impact those customers who currently rely on these services," they stated.

"Nonetheless, we will still be delivering even more trains across our network from the beginning of the winter schedule, featuring more extra trains on our Liverpool route."

The spokesperson verified that the trains being withdrawn were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 09:39 GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead – London Euston ends at Crewe station (Sunday)

Oversight Rationale

An regulatory spokesperson explained: "Our decision on the Manchester-London train was grounded in robust evidence provided by Network Rail that adding services within 'buffer' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a detrimental impact on reliability.

"It was determined that this train would operate within one of those time slots. If the operator operates the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (held back or redirected) than a booked passenger service.

"This can assist with service reliability and operational restoration during disruption."

The ORR said Avanti was earlier granted the right to operate this train from May 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle only.

This was on the basis that another operator's Stirling services were not running at the moment but the First Lumo services are expected to begin running during the December 2025 timetable period.

The regulatory body noted that under the new timetable, new open access train services, run by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.