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A train service that carries commuters from London from Manchester is scheduled to run empty for approximately five months following a determination by the railway oversight authority.

A verdict by the rail regulatory body means the 07:00 GMT train operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will continue to run but will only be used to carry employees starting mid-December.

An operator spokesperson expressed they were "disappointed" with the outcome, which would "definitely affect those passengers who already use these trains".

An regulatory spokesperson explained the judgment was founded on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential operational issues on the key rail corridor.

The infrastructure company declined to comment.

Specifics of the Service Changes

The fast service, which arrives in London in under two hours, will still depart from Manchester Piccadilly at 7:00 AM on weekday mornings, but will not open to the public.

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

The decision implies the service could run for more than 100 trips without paying passengers on board.

An operator spokesperson clarified they were displeased with the regulator's determination not to approve operational permissions from the winter period for several daily trains they currently operated, including the 7:00 AM fast service from Manchester to London.

The regulatory body also required a weekend train which currently runs from London from Holyhead to terminate at Crewe station, they added.

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

"Nonetheless, we will continue to provide additional trains across our network from the beginning of the December timetable, including further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The spokesperson verified that the services being removed were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester station to Euston station (Weekdays)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 9:39 AM GMT: Euston station – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead – London Euston terminates at Crewe station (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

An ORR official explained: "Our decision on the Manchester-London train was based on robust evidence submitted by the infrastructure operator that introducing trains within 'firebreak' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a detrimental impact on performance.

"We identified that this train would run in one of those paths. If Avanti operates the train as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (delayed or re-routed) than a booked passenger service.

"This helps with performance management and service recovery during disruption."

The ORR said Avanti was previously given the permission to run this train from May 2025 for the duration of one timetable period exclusively.

This was on the condition that First Lumo's Scottish trains were not operating at the moment but the First Lumo services are anticipated to start operating during the December 2025 timetable period.

The regulatory body added that under the updated schedule, additional independent train services, run by the competing operator to Stirling, were due to start.