🔗 Share this article Manchester to London Rail Service to Operate Without Passengers Rail operator describes the oversight body's decision as "unsatisfactory" A rail route that carries commuters from Manchester to London is set to run empty for approximately a five-month period following a decision by the rail regulator. A ruling by the Office of Rail and Road implies the 07:00 GMT train run by the rail operator from Manchester Piccadilly to the capital will still operate but will only be used to carry staff from mid-December. An operator representative expressed they were "disappointed" with the decision, which would "clearly impact those passengers who regularly take these services". An regulatory official explained the decision was based 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 express train, which arrives in the capital in under two hours, will continue to leave from Manchester station at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not open to commuters. It will, instead, ferry company employees from Manchester to London when the new timetable takes effect on 15 December. The ruling means the service could operate for more than 100 trips without paying passengers on the train. An operator spokesperson clarified they were displeased with the regulator's decision not to grant access rights from the winter period for several daily trains they currently operated, such as the 07:00 fast service from Manchester to London. The regulatory body also required a weekend train which currently runs from London from Holyhead to end at Crewe station, they added. "It will clearly impact those customers who currently rely on these services," they stated. "Nonetheless, we will continue to provide even more services across our route system from the start of the winter schedule, including more extra trains on our Liverpool route." The spokesperson verified that the services being removed were: 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester station to London Euston (Weekdays) 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – Euston station (Weekdays) 09:39 GMT: Euston station – Blackpool North (Weekdays) 7:32 PM GMT: Chester station – Euston station (Monday to Friday) 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead – London Euston ends at Crewe station (Sunday) Regulatory Reasoning An regulatory official explained: "Our decision on the Manchester-London service was grounded in comprehensive data submitted by Network Rail that adding services within 'firebreak' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a detrimental impact on reliability. "It was determined that this service would operate within one of those paths. If Avanti runs the service as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (held back or re-routed) than a scheduled public train. "This helps with performance management and service recovery during disruption." The regulator indicated the operator was earlier granted the permission to operate this service from spring 2025 for the duration of a single schedule cycle exclusively. This was on the condition that First Lumo's Stirling services were not running at the moment but the First Lumo services are expected to begin running during the winter 2025 timetable period. The ORR added that under the updated schedule, additional independent rail operations, run by First Lumo to Stirling, were scheduled to commence.