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A train service transporting daily travelers from Manchester to London is set to operate without passengers for around a five-month period due to a decision by the railway oversight authority.

A verdict by the rail regulatory body means the 07:00 GMT train operated by Avanti West Coast from Manchester's main station to the capital will still operate but will exclusively serve to transport employees starting mid-December.

An operator representative expressed they were "let down" with the outcome, which would "clearly impact those passengers who already use these services".

An regulatory spokesperson indicated the decision was based on "solid data" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential service disruption 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 continue to leave from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not be available to commuters.

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

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

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson confirmed they were displeased with the regulator's determination not to grant operational permissions from the winter period for four weekday services they currently operated, including the 7:00 AM fast service from London from Manchester.

The ORR also required a Sunday service which presently operates from London from Holyhead to end at Crewe station, they noted.

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

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

The spokesperson verified that the trains being withdrawn were:

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

Oversight Reasoning

An ORR official explained: "Our decision on the London-Manchester train was grounded in comprehensive data submitted by the infrastructure operator that adding services within 'buffer' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on performance.

"It was determined that this service would run in one of those paths. If Avanti runs the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (delayed or re-routed) than a booked passenger service.

"This can assist with performance management and operational restoration during incidents."

The ORR said the operator was previously given the right to operate this service from spring 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle exclusively.

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

The regulatory body noted that under the updated schedule, new open access train services, run by the competing operator to Stirling, were scheduled to commence.