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A train service that carries commuters from Manchester to London is scheduled to operate without passengers for approximately a five-month period following a decision by the railway oversight authority.

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road implies the 07:00 GMT service operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will continue to run but will only be used to carry staff starting the middle of December.

An operator spokesperson stated they were "let down" with the decision, which would "definitely affect those passengers who already use these services".

An regulatory spokesperson explained the decision was founded on "solid data" from the infrastructure manager to prevent possible service disruption on the West Coast Main Line.

The infrastructure company declined to comment.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which reaches the capital in under two hours, will still depart from Manchester station at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not be available to the public.

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

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

An operator representative clarified they were displeased with the ORR's determination not to grant operational permissions from the winter period for four weekday services they presently run, such as the 07:00 fast service from Manchester to London.

The regulatory body also mandated a weekend train which currently runs from Holyhead to London to end at Crewe station, they noted.

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

"However, we will continue to provide even more trains across our route system from the start of the winter schedule, featuring further additional trains on our Liverpool line."

The spokesperson confirmed that the services being withdrawn were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – London Euston (Weekdays)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool North (Weekdays)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead station – Euston station terminates at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

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

"It was determined that this service would run in one of those time slots. If Avanti runs the train as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (held back or re-routed) than a booked passenger service.

"This can assist with service reliability and service recovery during disruption."

The ORR said the operator was earlier granted the right to operate this service from May 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle exclusively.

This was on the basis that another operator's Stirling services were not operating at the time but the those trains are expected to begin running during the winter 2025 schedule update.

The ORR noted that under the updated schedule, new open access rail operations, run by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.