đŸ”— Share this article London-bound Manchester Train to Run Without Passengers Rail operator characterizes the regulator's ruling as "unsatisfactory" A rail route transporting commuters from Manchester to London is set to run empty for approximately a five-month period due to a decision by the railway oversight authority. A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road means the 07:00 GMT service operated by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to London will still operate but will exclusively serve to transport staff from the middle of December. An Avanti West Coast representative expressed they were "let down" with the decision, which would "clearly impact those customers who regularly take these services". An ORR spokesperson indicated the decision was founded on "solid data" from the infrastructure manager to prevent possible service disruption on the key rail corridor. The infrastructure company did not provide a statement. Details of the Service Changes The fast service, which reaches London in less than 120 minutes, will continue to leave from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not open to the public. It will, alternatively, ferry company employees from London from Manchester when the new timetable takes effect on December 15th. The decision implies the train could run for more than 100 trips without paying passengers on board. An operator representative clarified they were disappointed with the regulator's decision not to approve operational permissions 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 terminate at Crewe, they noted. "This will clearly impact those customers who currently rely on these trains," they said. "Nonetheless, we will continue to provide even more trains across our route system from the beginning of the winter schedule, featuring more extra trains on our Liverpool route." The representative verified that the trains being removed were: 07:00 GMT: Manchester station to Euston station (Monday to Friday) 12:52 GMT: Blackpool station – Euston station (Weekdays) 9:39 AM GMT: Euston station – Blackpool North (Weekdays) 19:32 GMT: Chester – Euston station (Monday to Friday) 5:53 PM GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston terminates at Crewe station (Sundays) Regulatory Rationale An regulatory official explained: "Our ruling on the Manchester-London train was based on comprehensive data submitted by the infrastructure operator that adding services within 'buffer' slots on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on performance. "It was determined that this service would run in one of those paths. If the operator operates the service as empty coaching stock (ECS), ECS can be operated with greater flexibility (delayed or re-routed) than a booked passenger service. "This helps with performance management and service recovery during incidents." The regulator indicated Avanti was earlier granted the right to operate this service from spring 2025 for the period of a single schedule cycle only. This was on the basis that First Lumo's Scottish trains were not operating at the time but the First Lumo services are expected to begin running during the December 2025 schedule update. The regulatory body added that under the new timetable, new open access rail operations, operated by First Lumo to Stirling, were due to start.