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

A ruling by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT train operated by the rail operator from Manchester Piccadilly to London will still operate but will exclusively serve to transport employees starting the middle of December.

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

An regulatory spokesperson indicated the decision was founded on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential operational issues on the key rail corridor.

Network Rail declined to comment.

Specifics of the Service Changes

The fast service, which arrives in London in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester station at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not open to commuters.

It will, instead, ferry Avanti staff from London from Manchester when the updated schedule launches on December 15th.

The ruling implies the service could operate for over a hundred trips without fare-paying customers on board.

An Avanti West Coast representative confirmed they were disappointed with the regulator's decision not to grant operational permissions from December for four weekday services they presently run, including the 7:00 AM express train from Manchester to London.

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

"This will significantly affect those passengers who currently rely on these trains," they stated.

"Nonetheless, we will still be delivering even more trains across our network from the start of the December timetable, including more extra trains on our Liverpool line."

The spokesperson verified that the trains being removed were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston (Weekdays)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool North (Monday to Friday)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester – London Euston (Weekdays)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston ends at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

An ORR official stated: "Our ruling on the London-Manchester service was based on comprehensive data submitted by Network Rail that adding services within 'buffer' paths on the main rail line would have a detrimental impact 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 (held back or redirected) than a booked passenger service.

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

The regulator said Avanti was earlier granted the permission to operate this train from spring 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle only.

This was on the condition that another operator's Stirling services were not operating at the moment but the those trains are anticipated to start running during the December 2025 timetable period.

The ORR added that under the new timetable, additional independent rail operations, operated by First Lumo to Stirling, were due to start.