Manchester to London Train to Run Without Commuters

A train service transporting commuters from London from Manchester is scheduled to operate without passengers for around a five-month period following a decision by the railway oversight authority.

A ruling by the Office of Rail and Road implies the 7:00 AM GMT train operated by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to the capital will continue to run but will exclusively serve to transport employees starting mid-December.

An operator representative stated they were "let down" with the outcome, which would "definitely affect those passengers who already use these services".

An regulatory official indicated the judgment was founded on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against possible operational issues on the key rail corridor.

Network Rail did not provide a statement.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which arrives in the capital in under two hours, will still depart from Manchester Piccadilly at 7:00 AM on four weekdays, but will not open to commuters.

It will, alternatively, transport company employees from Manchester to London when the updated schedule takes effect on 15 December.

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

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson clarified they were displeased with the ORR's determination not to approve operational permissions from the winter period for several daily trains they presently run, including the 7:00 AM fast service from London from Manchester.

The regulatory body also mandated a weekend train which currently runs from Holyhead to London to end at Crewe, they added.

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

"Nonetheless, we will still be delivering additional services across our network from the start of the winter schedule, featuring further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative verified that the services being withdrawn were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 09:39 GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester station – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston ends at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

An ORR spokesperson explained: "Our decision on the Manchester-London service was based on robust evidence submitted by Network Rail that adding services within 'firebreak' slots on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on performance.

"It was determined that this service would operate within one of those paths. 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 can assist with performance management and operational restoration during disruption."

The ORR said the operator was earlier granted the permission to run this service from May 2025 for the period of one timetable period only.

This was on the condition that another operator's Stirling services were not running at the time but the First Lumo services are anticipated to start running during the winter 2025 schedule update.

The regulatory body added that under the new timetable, additional independent train services, operated by the competing operator to Stirling, were scheduled to commence.