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A rail route transporting daily travelers from Manchester to London is set to run empty for around a five-month period following a decision by the railway oversight authority.

A verdict by the Office of Rail and Road means the 7:00 AM GMT train run by the rail operator from Manchester's main station to the capital will still operate but will only be used to transport staff from mid-December.

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson expressed they were "let down" with the outcome, which would "clearly impact those passengers who already use these trains".

An ORR official indicated the decision was based 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.

Specifics of the Operational Adjustments

The express train, which reaches London in less than 120 minutes, will still depart from Manchester Piccadilly at 07:00 on four weekdays, but will not open to commuters.

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

The ruling means the train could run for over a hundred journeys without fare-paying customers on board.

An operator spokesperson confirmed they were displeased with the ORR's determination not to grant access rights from the winter period for several daily trains they currently operated, including the 7:00 AM fast service from London from Manchester.

The ORR also mandated a Sunday service which presently operates from Holyhead to London to end at Crewe station, they noted.

"It will clearly impact those passengers who currently rely on these trains," they stated.

"Nonetheless, we will continue to provide even more services across our network from the start of the winter schedule, including more extra trains on our Liverpool route."

The representative confirmed that the trains 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 (Monday to Friday)
• 19:32 GMT: Chester – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
• 17:53 GMT: Holyhead station – London Euston ends at Crewe (Sundays)

Regulatory Reasoning

An ORR spokesperson explained: "Our decision on the London-Manchester train was grounded in comprehensive data provided by the infrastructure operator that introducing trains within 'firebreak' paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a negative effect on performance.

"It was determined that this train would run in one of those paths. If Avanti runs the service as unoccupied train cars (ECS), ECS can be run more flexibly (held back or re-routed) than a scheduled public train.

"This can assist with service reliability and operational restoration during disruption."

The regulator indicated Avanti 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 another operator's Stirling services were not running at the time but the First Lumo services are anticipated to start running during the winter 2025 timetable period.

The regulatory body noted that under the new timetable, new open access rail operations, operated by the competing operator to Stirling, Scotland, were due to start.