London-bound Manchester Train to Run Without Passengers

A train service transporting daily travelers from London from Manchester is scheduled to run empty for around a five-month period due to a determination by the rail regulator.

A ruling by the Office of Rail and Road means the 7:00 AM GMT train operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will still operate but will exclusively serve to carry staff starting mid-December.

An Avanti West Coast representative stated they were "let down" with the decision, which would "definitely affect those customers who already use these trains".

An regulatory official explained the judgment was based on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to prevent potential operational issues on the West Coast Main Line.

Network Rail did not provide a statement.

Specifics of the Operational Adjustments

The fast service, which arrives in London in under two hours, will continue to leave from Manchester station at 7:00 AM on weekday mornings, but will not be available to commuters.

It will, instead, ferry company employees from London from Manchester when the new timetable launches on 15 December.

The decision means the service could run for more than 100 trips without fare-paying customers on the train.

An Avanti West Coast representative clarified they were displeased with the ORR's determination not to grant access rights from December for four weekday services they presently run, such as the 07:00 express train from Manchester to London.

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

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

"However, we will still be delivering additional services across our network from the beginning of the winter schedule, including further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The spokesperson confirmed that the services being removed were:

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

Oversight Reasoning

An regulatory spokesperson stated: "Our decision on the Manchester-London train was based on robust evidence provided by Network Rail that adding services within 'firebreak' paths on the main rail line would have a detrimental impact on performance.

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

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

The ORR indicated Avanti was previously given the permission to operate this service from spring 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle exclusively.

This was on the condition that First Lumo's Stirling services were not operating at the moment but the those trains are anticipated to start running during the winter 2025 schedule update.

The ORR noted that under the new timetable, additional independent train services, run by First Lumo to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.