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A rail route transporting daily travelers from London from Manchester is set to operate without passengers for around a five-month period due to a decision by the rail regulator.

A verdict by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT service run by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to the capital will continue to run but will only be used to carry staff from mid-December.

An operator representative stated 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 "robust evidence" from Network Rail to guard against possible operational issues on the West Coast Main Line.

Network Rail did not provide a statement.

Details of the Service Changes

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

It will, alternatively, transport Avanti staff from Manchester to London when the updated schedule launches on December 15th.

The ruling means the train could run for more than 100 trips without paying passengers on the train.

An operator representative confirmed they were disappointed with the ORR's determination not to approve operational permissions from the winter period for four weekday services they presently run, such as the 07:00 express train from Manchester to London.

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

"It will significantly affect those customers who already use these services," they stated.

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

The representative confirmed that the trains being withdrawn were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 09:39 GMT: Euston station – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester station – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston ends at Crewe (Sunday)

Regulatory Rationale

An ORR spokesperson explained: "Our ruling on the London-Manchester train was grounded in comprehensive data submitted by the infrastructure operator that introducing trains within 'firebreak' paths on the main rail line would have a negative effect on performance.

"We identified that this train would operate within one of those time slots. If the operator runs the train as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (delayed or re-routed) than a scheduled public train.

"This helps with service reliability and service recovery during incidents."

The regulator said Avanti was previously given the right to run this service from May 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle exclusively.

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

The ORR added that under the updated schedule, new open access train services, operated by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.