Manchester to London Train to Operate Without Commuters

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

A verdict by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT train run by the rail operator from Manchester Piccadilly to London will still operate but will exclusively serve to carry staff from the middle of December.

An Avanti West Coast representative expressed they were "let down" with the outcome, which would "clearly impact those passengers who regularly take these services".

An regulatory official indicated the decision was founded on "solid data" from Network Rail to prevent potential service disruption on the key rail corridor.

Network Rail declined to comment.

Specifics of the Service Changes

The fast service, which reaches the capital in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester station at 07:00 on weekday mornings, but will not be available to commuters.

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

The ruling implies the service could run for more than 100 journeys without fare-paying customers on board.

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

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

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

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

The spokesperson verified that the services being withdrawn were:

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

Regulatory Rationale

An ORR official stated: "Our ruling on the London-Manchester train was grounded in comprehensive data submitted by the infrastructure operator that adding services within 'buffer' paths on the main rail line would have a negative effect on performance.

"It was determined that this service would operate within one of those time slots. If Avanti operates the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (held back or redirected) than a scheduled public train.

"This helps with performance management and operational restoration during disruption."

The ORR indicated the operator was previously given the right to run this train from spring 2025 for the duration of a single schedule cycle only.

This was on the basis that First Lumo's Scottish trains were not operating at the time but the those trains are anticipated to start running during the December 2025 timetable period.

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