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

A ruling by the rail regulatory body implies the 07:00 GMT train operated by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London will continue to run but will exclusively serve to transport employees starting the middle of December.

An Avanti West Coast representative stated they were "disappointed" with the outcome, which would "definitely affect those passengers who regularly take these services".

An regulatory official indicated the judgment was founded on "solid data" from Network Rail to prevent possible service disruption on the West Coast Main Line.

Network Rail did not provide a statement.

Details of the Operational Adjustments

The fast service, which reaches London in less than 120 minutes, will continue to leave from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not open to the public.

It will, instead, transport Avanti staff from London from Manchester when the new timetable takes effect on December 15th.

The decision means the service could operate for over a hundred trips without paying passengers on the train.

An Avanti West Coast representative clarified they were displeased with the regulator's determination not to approve access rights from December for four weekday services they currently operated, such as the 7:00 AM express train from London from Manchester.

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

"It will significantly affect those passengers who currently rely on these trains," they stated.

"Nonetheless, we will continue to provide even more services across our network from the start of the winter schedule, including further additional trains on our Liverpool route."

The spokesperson confirmed that the services being withdrawn were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Weekdays)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester station – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead station – Euston station ends at Crewe station (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

An regulatory spokesperson explained: "Our decision on the London-Manchester train was grounded in robust evidence provided by Network Rail that introducing trains within 'buffer' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on reliability.

"We identified that this service 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 (held back or redirected) than a scheduled public train.

"This can assist with service reliability and service recovery during disruption."

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

This was on the basis 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 timetable period.

The ORR noted that under the updated schedule, new open access rail operations, operated by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.