🔗 Share this article

A train service transporting daily travelers from London from Manchester is set to operate without passengers for approximately a five-month period following a decision by the rail regulator.

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road means the 07:00 GMT service operated by Avanti West Coast from Manchester's main station to the capital will still operate but will exclusively serve to carry employees starting mid-December.

An operator spokesperson expressed they were "let down" with the decision, which would "definitely affect those passengers who regularly take these trains".

An regulatory spokesperson indicated the decision was based on "solid data" from Network Rail to prevent possible service disruption on the key rail corridor.

The infrastructure company did not provide a statement.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which arrives in London in under two hours, will continue to leave from Manchester station at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not open to the public.

It will, alternatively, transport company employees from London from Manchester when the updated schedule launches on 15 December.

The decision means the service could operate for over a hundred trips without paying passengers on board.

An Avanti West Coast representative confirmed they were displeased with the ORR's decision not to approve access rights from December for four weekday services they presently run, including the 7:00 AM express train from Manchester to London.

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

"This will clearly impact those passengers who already use these trains," they said.

"Nonetheless, we will continue to provide additional trains across our route system from the beginning of the winter schedule, featuring further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative confirmed that the services being withdrawn were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Weekdays)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 09:39 GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston terminates at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Rationale

An regulatory official stated: "Our ruling on the London-Manchester service was based on robust evidence submitted by Network Rail that introducing trains within 'buffer' paths on the main rail line would have a negative effect on reliability.

"We identified that this train would run in one of those paths. If the operator operates the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (held back or redirected) than a booked passenger service.

"This helps with service reliability and service recovery during disruption."

The ORR said Avanti was previously given the right to operate this train from May 2025 for the period of one timetable period only.

This was on the condition that First Lumo's Scottish trains were not operating at the time but the First Lumo services are expected to begin operating during the winter 2025 timetable period.

The regulatory body added that under the new timetable, new open access train services, run by the competing operator to Stirling, were due to start.