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A rail route that carries commuters from Manchester to London is scheduled to run empty for approximately five months due to a determination by the rail regulator.

A verdict by the rail regulatory body means the 07:00 GMT train run by Avanti West Coast from Manchester's main station to the capital will still operate but will exclusively serve to transport employees starting the middle of December.

An operator spokesperson expressed they were "let down" with the outcome, which would "definitely affect those passengers who regularly take these services".

An regulatory spokesperson indicated the decision was founded on "solid data" from the infrastructure manager to guard against possible service disruption on the key rail corridor.

The infrastructure company did not provide a statement.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which reaches the capital in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not be available to commuters.

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

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

An Avanti West Coast representative confirmed they were disappointed with the regulator's determination not to grant access rights from December for four weekday services they presently run, including the 07:00 fast service from Manchester to London.

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

"It will significantly affect those customers who currently rely on these services," they stated.

"Nonetheless, we will continue to provide even more trains across our route system from the beginning of the winter schedule, featuring further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative verified that the services being removed were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester station to London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool North (Monday to Friday)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester station – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead – Euston station terminates at Crewe station (Sunday)

Oversight Reasoning

An ORR official explained: "Our decision on the Manchester-London train was grounded in comprehensive data provided by the infrastructure operator that adding services within 'firebreak' paths on the main rail line would have a detrimental impact on reliability.

"We identified that this service would run in one of those time slots. If the operator runs the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (held back or redirected) than a scheduled public train.

"This helps with performance management and service recovery during disruption."

The regulator indicated the operator was previously given the permission to run this service from spring 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle only.

This was on the condition that First Lumo's Scottish trains were not operating at the time but the First Lumo services are expected to begin operating during the December 2025 schedule update.

The ORR noted that under the new timetable, new open access rail operations, operated by First Lumo to Stirling, were due to start.