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

A ruling by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT service operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will continue to run but will exclusively serve to carry staff starting the middle of December.

An operator spokesperson expressed they were "disappointed" with the decision, which would "clearly impact those passengers who already use these services".

An regulatory spokesperson indicated the judgment 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.

Specifics of the Operational Adjustments

The fast service, which arrives in the capital in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester station at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not be available to the public.

It will, instead, ferry company employees from Manchester to London when the updated schedule launches on 15 December.

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

An operator spokesperson confirmed they were displeased with the regulator's determination not to grant operational permissions from December for four weekday services they currently operated, such as the 7:00 AM fast service from London from Manchester.

The ORR also required a weekend train which presently operates from London from Holyhead to terminate at Crewe, they noted.

"This will clearly impact those customers who currently rely on these services," they stated.

"However, we will continue to provide additional services across our network from the start of the December timetable, featuring more extra trains on our Liverpool line."

The representative verified that the trains being withdrawn were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston (Weekdays)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 09:39 GMT: Euston station – Blackpool North (Monday to Friday)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester station – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead – London Euston ends at Crewe station (Sundays)

Oversight Reasoning

An regulatory spokesperson stated: "Our ruling on the Manchester-London train was based on robust evidence submitted by the infrastructure operator that adding services within 'buffer' slots on the main rail line would have a negative effect on reliability.

"It was determined that this train would operate within one of those time slots. If Avanti operates the train as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (delayed or redirected) than a scheduled public train.

"This helps with service reliability and operational restoration during incidents."

The regulator indicated Avanti was previously given the permission to operate this train 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 running at the time but the First Lumo services are expected to begin running during the winter 2025 timetable period.

The regulatory body added that under the updated schedule, additional independent train services, run by First Lumo to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.