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A train service transporting commuters from Manchester to London is set to run empty for around five months following a determination by the rail regulator.

A ruling by the rail regulatory body implies the 7:00 AM GMT service run by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will still operate but will only be used to carry staff from mid-December.

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

An ORR spokesperson explained the judgment was founded on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to prevent potential operational issues on the key rail corridor.

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 continue to leave from Manchester station at 07:00 on weekday mornings, but will not be available to the public.

It will, alternatively, ferry company employees from Manchester to London when the new timetable takes effect on December 15th.

The ruling means the service could operate for over a hundred journeys without paying passengers on board.

An Avanti West Coast representative clarified they were disappointed with the regulator's determination not to grant access rights from December for several daily trains they presently run, including the 7:00 AM fast service from London from Manchester.

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

"This will clearly impact those passengers who already use these services," they said.

"However, we will still be delivering additional trains across our network from the beginning of the December timetable, including further additional trains on our Liverpool line."

The spokesperson confirmed that the services being removed were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 09:39 GMT: Euston station – Blackpool station (Monday to Friday)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester station – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead station – Euston station terminates at Crewe (Sunday)

Regulatory Reasoning

An regulatory official stated: "Our ruling on the Manchester-London train was based on robust evidence submitted by the infrastructure operator that adding services within 'firebreak' slots on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on reliability.

"We identified that this train would run in one of those paths. If Avanti operates the service as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (held back or re-routed) than a booked passenger service.

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

The regulator said Avanti was previously given the right to run this train from spring 2025 for the duration of one timetable period only.

This was on the condition 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 regulatory body added that under the updated schedule, additional independent train services, run by the competing operator to Stirling, were scheduled to commence.