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

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road implies the 7:00 AM GMT service operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will continue to run but will exclusively serve to transport staff starting mid-December.

An operator representative stated they were "let down" with the decision, which would "clearly impact those customers who already use these services".

An regulatory official explained the judgment was founded on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential service disruption on the West Coast Main Line.

The infrastructure company declined to comment.

Specifics of the Service Changes

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

It will, alternatively, ferry Avanti staff from Manchester to London when the updated schedule takes effect on 15 December.

The decision implies the train could run for more than 100 journeys without paying passengers on the train.

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson confirmed they were disappointed with the regulator's decision not to approve access rights from December for several daily trains they presently run, including the 7:00 AM express train from London from Manchester.

The regulatory body also mandated a Sunday service which presently operates from Holyhead to London to terminate at Crewe, they added.

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

"However, we will continue to provide additional trains across our network from the start of the winter schedule, including more extra trains on our Liverpool line."

The spokesperson verified that the services being withdrawn were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Weekdays)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool station – London Euston (Weekdays)
• 09:39 GMT: Euston station – Blackpool station (Weekdays)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester station – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston ends at Crewe station (Sundays)

Oversight Reasoning

An ORR spokesperson stated: "Our decision on the Manchester-London train was grounded in robust evidence provided by Network Rail that introducing trains within 'buffer' paths on the main rail line would have a detrimental impact on reliability.

"We identified that this train would operate within one of those time slots. If the operator operates the train as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (held back or redirected) than a booked passenger service.

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

The ORR indicated the operator was earlier granted the right to operate 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 running at the time but the First Lumo services are expected to begin operating during the December 2025 timetable period.

The regulatory body noted that under the new timetable, new open access rail operations, run by First Lumo to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.