The 7am weekday train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston will run without any passengers on board following a ruling by the rail regulator.
A spokesperson for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the independent safety and economic regulator for Britain’s railways, said continuing the Avanti service on the West Coast Main Line would “harm the overall performance for all passengers”.
From December 15, the 7am service – nicknamed the “ghost train” – will run with only staff on board so that it can be easily moved or delayed to alleviate pressure on what is a “congested stretch of track”, the ORR said.
The early-morning commuter service has been running successfully up until now, so what has changed?
Why the West Coast Main Line is becoming more congested
A new rail operator – Lumo – will begin offering services on the West Coast Main Line from December. The all-electric trains have been running on the east coast between London and Edinburgh since 2021.
Lumo is an open-access operator, which means it is an independent company that runs train services on a railway network without a government franchise agreement and receives no government subsidies.
It has received permission from the ORR to run services from Stirling to London Euston starting in December, which will add to congestion on the line.
Avanti was only given the rights to run the 7am Manchester to London Euston service for one timetable period – from May to December 2025.
An ORR spokesperson explained that to continue running that service, those trains would have had to use what is called a ‘firebreak path’, which is reserved for managing disruption.
What is a ‘firebreak’ path?
Firebreak paths are planned gaps or unused time in the train timetable, which allow services to recover and get back on schedule following delays or disruptions. The ORR describes them as “relief valves”.
A spokesperson explained: “If Avanti runs the train empty on this schedule, i.e. without passengers, it allows them to maintain movements so that their trains are still in the right places for all their other services, but if there is disruption, the train can be moved or delayed much more easily than a scheduled passenger service.
“This flexibility helps manage performance for all passengers using the whole West Coast Main Line and recover services during disruption more easily.”
How has Avanti West Coast responded?
An Avanti spokesperson said the company was “disappointed” by the ORR’s decision.
The spokesperson added that some other services – including a Sunday train from Holyhead to London, which will now terminate at Crewe – will also be impacted.
Avanti continued: “This will clearly impact those customers who already use these services. However, we will still be delivering even more services across our network from the start of the December timetable, including further additional trains on our Liverpool route.”
There will be a new timetable in May 2026, where Avanti hopes the 7am Manchester to London service will be reinstated.
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