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

A ruling by the rail regulatory body means the 7:00 AM GMT service operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will still operate but will exclusively serve to carry employees starting the middle of December.

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

An ORR official indicated the judgment was based on "robust evidence" from the infrastructure manager to guard against potential service disruption on the key rail corridor.

The infrastructure company declined to comment.

Specifics of the Service Changes

The express train, which reaches London in under two hours, will still depart from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on weekday mornings, but will not be available to the public.

It will, alternatively, ferry Avanti staff from London from Manchester when the new timetable launches on 15 December.

The decision means the train could run for more than 100 trips without fare-paying customers on board.

An operator spokesperson clarified they were disappointed with the ORR's decision not to grant operational permissions from December for several daily trains they presently run, such as the 7:00 AM fast service from Manchester to London.

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

"This will significantly affect those passengers who already use these services," they said.

"However, we will still be delivering additional services across our network from the start of the winter schedule, featuring more extra trains on our Liverpool route."

The spokesperson verified that the services being withdrawn were:

• 07:00 GMT: Manchester Piccadilly to Euston station (Monday to Friday)
• 12:52 PM GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 9:39 AM GMT: London Euston – Blackpool North (Weekdays)
• 7:32 PM GMT: Chester – Euston station (Weekdays)
• 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead – Euston station ends at Crewe (Sunday)

Oversight Reasoning

An regulatory spokesperson stated: "Our ruling on the Manchester-London train was based on robust evidence submitted by the infrastructure operator 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 time slots. If the operator operates the train as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (delayed or re-routed) than a scheduled public train.

"This can assist with performance management and operational restoration during disruption."

The regulator said the operator was previously given the right to operate this service from May 2025 for the duration of one timetable period exclusively.

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

The ORR added that under the new timetable, additional independent train services, run by the competing operator to Stirling, were due to start.