🔗 Share this article Manchester to London Train to Run Devoid of Passengers Rail operator characterizes the regulator's decision as "disappointing" A train service that carries commuters from London from Manchester is scheduled to operate without passengers for around a five-month period following a decision by the rail regulator. A ruling by the Office of Rail and Road means the 7:00 AM GMT service operated by Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London will continue to run but will exclusively serve to carry staff from mid-December. An operator spokesperson stated they were "let down" with the decision, which would "clearly impact those passengers who regularly take these trains". An ORR official indicated the judgment was founded on "solid data" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential service disruption on the West Coast Main Line. Network Rail declined to comment. Specifics of the Service Changes The fast service, which arrives in the capital in under two hours, will still depart from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on weekday mornings, but will not open to the public. It will, instead, transport company employees from London from Manchester when the new timetable launches on 15 December. The decision implies the train could run for more than 100 journeys without paying passengers on board. An operator representative confirmed they were disappointed with the regulator's determination not to grant access rights from the winter period for four weekday services they currently operated, such as the 07:00 express train from London from Manchester. The regulatory body also mandated a Sunday service which currently runs from Holyhead to London to terminate at Crewe, they noted. "It will significantly affect those customers who already use these trains," they said. "However, we will still be delivering even more services across our network from the start of the winter schedule, including more extra trains on our Liverpool line." The spokesperson confirmed that the services being withdrawn were: 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester station to London Euston (Weekdays) 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool station – London Euston (Weekdays) 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday) 19:32 GMT: Chester – London Euston (Monday to Friday) 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead – London Euston terminates at Crewe station (Sundays) Regulatory Rationale An ORR official explained: "Our decision on the London-Manchester service was based on robust evidence submitted by Network Rail that adding services within 'firebreak' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on performance. "It was determined that this train would run in one of those paths. If Avanti runs the train as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (held back or re-routed) than a scheduled public train. "This helps with service reliability and operational restoration during disruption." The regulator indicated the operator was earlier granted the right to operate this train from May 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle exclusively. This was on the basis that another operator's Stirling services were not operating at the moment but the those trains are expected to begin running during the December 2025 schedule update. The ORR added that under the updated schedule, additional independent rail operations, run by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were scheduled to commence.