🔗 Share this article

A train service transporting daily travelers from London from Manchester is set to operate without passengers for around five months due to a determination by the rail regulator.

A verdict by the rail regulatory body means the 7:00 AM GMT service operated by the rail operator from Manchester Piccadilly to the capital will still operate but will only be used to carry staff from the middle of December.

An Avanti West Coast representative expressed they were "disappointed" with the decision, which would "definitely affect those customers who regularly take these trains".

An regulatory spokesperson indicated the decision was based on "solid data" from Network Rail to guard against possible service disruption on the West Coast Main Line.

The infrastructure company did not provide a statement.

Specifics of the Service Changes

The express train, which arrives in the capital in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester station at 7:00 AM on weekday mornings, but will not open to the public.

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

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

An operator representative clarified they were displeased with the ORR's decision not to approve operational permissions from December for several daily trains they presently run, including the 7:00 AM express train from London from Manchester.

The regulatory body also required a weekend train which presently operates from London from Holyhead to end at Crewe station, they noted.

"It will clearly impact those customers who currently rely on these trains," they said.

"However, we will still be delivering additional trains across our route system from the start of the winter schedule, featuring more extra trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative verified that the trains being withdrawn were:

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

Oversight Reasoning

An ORR spokesperson stated: "Our decision on the London-Manchester train was grounded in comprehensive data submitted by the infrastructure operator that introducing trains within 'buffer' slots 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 redirected) than a scheduled public train.

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

The regulator indicated Avanti was previously given the right to run this service from May 2025 for the period of one timetable period exclusively.

This was on the condition that another operator'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 noted that under the new timetable, new open access rail operations, run by the competing operator to Stirling, were scheduled to commence.