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

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road implies the 7:00 AM GMT train run by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to the capital will still operate but will exclusively serve to transport staff from the middle of December.

An operator representative stated they were "disappointed" with the outcome, which would "definitely affect those customers who already use these trains".

An regulatory spokesperson explained the decision was based on "solid data" from Network Rail to prevent possible operational issues on the key rail corridor.

Network Rail declined to comment.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The fast service, which arrives in the capital in under two hours, will still depart from Manchester station at 7:00 AM on four weekdays, but will not be available to the public.

It will, alternatively, ferry Avanti staff from London from Manchester when the new timetable takes effect on December 15th.

The decision implies the train could operate for over a hundred trips without paying passengers on the train.

An operator spokesperson clarified they were disappointed with the ORR's determination not to grant access rights from the winter period for several daily trains they currently operated, such as the 07:00 fast service from London from Manchester.

The ORR also mandated a Sunday service which currently runs from London from Holyhead to terminate at Crewe station, they added.

"It will significantly affect those passengers who currently rely on these services," they said.

"However, we will continue to provide additional trains across our network from the start of the December timetable, including more extra trains on our Liverpool route."

The spokesperson verified that the trains being withdrawn were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester station to London Euston (Weekdays)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool North – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Weekdays)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester station – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston terminates at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

An regulatory official explained: "Our ruling on the London-Manchester service was based on robust evidence submitted by the infrastructure operator that introducing trains within 'buffer' slots on the West Coast Main Line would have a detrimental impact on performance.

"We identified that this train would run in one of those time slots. If Avanti operates the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (held back or re-routed) than a scheduled public train.

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

The ORR indicated Avanti was previously given the permission to operate this train from May 2025 for the duration of a single schedule cycle only.

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

The regulatory body noted that under the new timetable, new open access rail operations, run by First Lumo to Stirling, were due to start.