The good news for rail travel between Manchester and London is that morning trains will continue to connect England’s largest cities in less than two hours. Bad news: Passengers will no longer be able to board the ship.
The rail regulator has closed the 7am Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, one of Britain’s fastest and most lucrative intercity services, as part of timetable changes which will take effect in mid-December.
Frustratingly for passengers as well as the operator, exactly the same train service will continue to run between stations from 7am each weekday: crewed, fast and empty.
Trains and staff still need to travel from Manchester as part of Rail’s complex plan to operate later services from Euston on the new December timetable.
The bizarre situation is expected to continue for five months or more until the next timetable change in May, meaning the service could run more than 100 times empty. The move has angered railway insiders over the decision of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Business travelers in the North may mourn the end of the express train, which ran non-stop past Stockport in Greater Manchester and was conveniently timed to reach the capital just before 9am. Revenue collectors are even higher: the current single fare on the peak-time service is £193, rising to £290 for first class.
Industry expert and rail writer Tony Miles said: “It will be on the platform – people will be able to see it, touch it, watch it leave. But they won’t be able to join in. The taxpayer will be paying for empty trains five days a week.”
The service began in 2008 when Virgin Trains ran intercity trains on the west coast main line, but was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic and Avanti’s subsequent troubles, and was reinstated when Avanti returned to a full timetable in 2024.
As the only service to complete the journey that quickly, at one hour 59 minutes, it has long been a key marketing asset, allowing operators to advertise trains running between England’s capital and a northern city in less than two hours.
Network Rail, as well as Avanti, supported the continuation of the service with passengers, arguing that trains would be used “regardless of capacity” on the network.
A senior industry source said: “People paid a lot of money to get on that train. If we ever needed justification for the guiding minds in the railways, this is the example.”
The train has been removed as the regulator attempts to ensure the overall reliability of the railways in the new timetable on December 15. The new schedule will mainly affect the UK’s other major rail artery, the East Coast Main Line, but the industry is wary of any potential disruption after the last comparable overhaul, a May 2018 timetable failure, caused mass cancellations and delays.
Orr said the service was no longer possible in the new timetable as new open access train services running from First Group’s Lummo to Stirling in Scotland were due to start. The fare revenue will go to the private operator rather than the transport department, as is the case under the Avanti contract.
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An Avanti spokesperson confirmed that its fastest services will still run with crew, but no passengers. He said: “We are disappointed by the decision by the Office of Rail and Road that we will not grant access rights from December for the four weekday services we currently operate, including the 07.00am fast service from Manchester to London, as well as the Sunday service which currently runs from Holyhead to London and terminates in Crewe. This will obviously impact customers who already use these services.”
Orr said: “Our decision on the Manchester-London service was based on the strong evidence provided by Network Rail that adding services within fireproof paths on the west coast main line would have a detrimental impact on performance. We recognized that this service would run in one of those paths.
“If Avanti operates the service as empty coaching stock, (it) can be run more flexibly than a booked passenger service – delayed or re-routed. This can assist performance management and service recovery during disruption.”
Firebreak paths are planned gaps or unused periods of time in the timetable to allow for disruption of services.
Orr said Avanti would run more services in the North-West overall under the new timetable, and that other applications from open access companies on the line had been rejected.
The fastest trains connecting Manchester and London will now take around 2 hours 15 minutes, with those wanting to reach the capital by 9am having to catch the 6.29am train.
Northern business leaders hit out at the decision. Henry Murrison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said that ORR supporting open access was “depriving businesses in Manchester of access to London on a vital fast peak service” and sacrificing revenue, adding: “Great British Railways’ future finances are being undermined by a regulator ignoring the interests of taxpayers, who will pick up the bill for this poor decision in the name of competition.”
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