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A train service transporting commuters from Manchester to London is set to run empty for approximately a five-month period due to a decision by the rail regulator.

A ruling by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT service run by Avanti West Coast from Manchester's main station to London will still operate but will exclusively serve to transport employees from mid-December.

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson stated they were "let down" with the outcome, which would "clearly impact those passengers who already use these services".

An ORR official indicated the judgment was based on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against possible operational issues on the key rail corridor.

Network Rail did not provide a statement.

Specifics of the Service Changes

The express train, which arrives in London in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester station at 07:00 on weekday mornings, but will not open to commuters.

It will, alternatively, ferry company employees from London from Manchester when the updated schedule takes effect on December 15th.

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

An operator representative confirmed they were disappointed with the ORR's decision not to approve access rights from the winter period for four weekday services they currently operated, such as the 7:00 AM express train from Manchester to London.

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

"This will significantly affect those passengers who already use these trains," they said.

"However, we will still be delivering additional services across our network from the start of the December timetable, featuring further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative confirmed that the services being removed were:

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

Oversight Rationale

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

"It was determined that this service would operate within 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 re-routed) than a booked passenger service.

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

The ORR indicated the operator was previously given the permission to run this service from May 2025 for the duration of a single schedule cycle exclusively.

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

The regulatory body added that under the updated schedule, additional independent rail operations, operated by First Lumo to Stirling, were due to start.