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A train service that carries commuters from London from Manchester is scheduled to operate without passengers for around five months following a decision by the rail regulator.

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road implies the 7:00 AM GMT service run by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to the capital will continue to run but will only be used to transport staff from the middle of December.

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

An ORR official explained the judgment was founded on "solid data" from Network Rail to prevent possible operational issues on the key rail corridor.

The infrastructure company did not provide a statement.

Specifics of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which arrives in London in under two hours, will continue to leave from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on weekday mornings, but will not be available to commuters.

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

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

An operator spokesperson clarified they were disappointed with the regulator's determination not to grant access rights from December for several daily trains they currently operated, including the 7:00 AM 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, they added.

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

"Nonetheless, we will still be delivering additional trains across our network from the beginning of the December timetable, featuring more extra trains on our Liverpool line."

The representative confirmed that the services being withdrawn were:

• 7:00 AM GMT: Manchester station to London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool North – London Euston (Weekdays)
• 09:39 GMT: Euston station – Blackpool North (Monday to Friday)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead – London Euston terminates at Crewe station (Sunday)

Regulatory Rationale

An ORR spokesperson explained: "Our decision on the London-Manchester service was based on comprehensive data submitted by Network Rail that adding services within 'firebreak' paths on the main rail line would have a negative effect on reliability.

"We identified that this service would run in one of those paths. If the operator runs the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (delayed or redirected) than a booked passenger service.

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

The ORR indicated the operator was previously given the permission to run this service from May 2025 for the duration of a single schedule cycle exclusively.

This was on the condition that First Lumo's Stirling services were not operating at the moment but the First Lumo services are expected to begin operating during the December 2025 schedule update.

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