Commuters in northern England are bracing for a peculiar twist in the country’s rail saga: the celebrated 7am Avanti West Coast service from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston—long a favorite among business travelers—will run entirely empty for at least five months, starting December 15, 2025. This decision, which has left passengers, industry experts, and business leaders scratching their heads, comes after a controversial ruling by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Britain’s rail regulator.
The move, first reported by The Guardian and confirmed by BBC News and Metro, means that up to 100 weekday services could traverse the 200-mile journey with only Avanti staff on board. For regulars who relied on the superfast, non-stop train to arrive in London before 9am—often paying up to £195 in standard class and as much as £290 in first class—the decision feels like a punch to the gut. As Tony Miles, a rail expert, told Metro: “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 get on. The taxpayer will be paying five days a week for empty trains.”
This “ghost train” scenario is not a cost-saving measure, nor is it a quirk of scheduling oversight. Instead, the ORR’s ruling is rooted in a desire to improve performance and flexibility on the West Coast Main Line, one of Britain’s busiest and most congested rail arteries. According to an ORR spokesperson, the decision was based on “robust evidence provided by Network Rail that adding services within ‘firebreak’ paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a detrimental impact on performance.” In rail parlance, “firebreak” paths are planned gaps in the timetable designed to absorb delays and help recover from disruptions. By running the service as empty coaching stock (ECS), the train can be “run more flexibly (delayed or re-routed) than a booked passenger service,” the ORR explained. “This can assist with performance management and service recovery during disruption.”
For Avanti West Coast, the ruling is a major blow. The company has been vocal about its disappointment, with a spokesperson telling BBC News: “We are disappointed with the Office of Rail and Road’s decision not to grant access rights from December for four weekday services that we currently operate, including the 07:00 from Manchester to London fast service, as well as requiring a Sunday service which currently runs from Holyhead to London to terminate at Crewe. This will clearly impact those customers who already use these services.” The spokesperson also confirmed that Avanti 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.”
The 7am Manchester-London express isn’t the only casualty. Four other weekday services are being axed: the 12:52 Blackpool North to London Euston, the 09:39 London Euston to Blackpool North, the 19:32 Chester to London Euston, and the 17:53 Holyhead to London Euston (which will now terminate at Crewe on Sundays). The ORR’s new timetable, however, will see an overall increase in Avanti services to the North West, though the loss of the flagship 7am express stings for many.
Why take such a drastic step? The answer lies in the broader shake-up of Britain’s rail timetable and the impending arrival of new open access services. From December 2025, First Group’s low-cost operator Lumo will launch direct trains from London Euston to Stirling in Scotland. As The Guardian notes, the ORR’s decision to prioritize these new services—intended to foster competition and improve choice for passengers—has come at the expense of some of the most popular Avanti routes. Applications from other would-be competitors, including Richard Branson’s Virgin group, were also rejected by the ORR, which cited capacity constraints and the risk of a “serious negative impact” on performance.
The 7am Avanti express has a storied history. Launched in 2008 under Virgin Trains, it quickly became a jewel in Britain’s intercity crown, offering a sub-two-hour journey between Manchester and London. The service was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and Avanti’s subsequent operational troubles, only to be reinstated in 2024. For business travelers and revenue collectors alike, its return was a boon—until now. As The Guardian points out, the train’s high fares and popularity made it a major marketing asset and a reliable source of revenue for the operator.
The reaction from northern business leaders has been fierce. Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, lambasted the ORR’s decision, arguing that it “denies business people in Manchester access to London on a vital fast peak service” and undermines the future finances of Great British Railways. “Great British Railways’ future finances are being undermined by a regulator disregarding the interests of taxpayers, who will pick up the bill for this poor decision in the name of competition,” Murison told The Guardian.
Passengers, too, have been left bewildered. Social media was awash with incredulous comments, with one user quoted by Metro asking: “Totally ridiculous. If no fares are taken will it not need a crew and use the same amount of electricity for this negative journey?” The answer, according to both Avanti and Network Rail, is yes—the train must still run to position staff and rolling stock for subsequent services out of London Euston. Network Rail and Avanti both supported the continuation of the service with passengers, arguing that the train would “use capacity regardless” and that removing paying customers made little sense.
Yet the ORR stood firm, insisting that its decision was necessary to maintain the overall reliability of the network—especially after the chaos of the May 2018 timetable overhaul, which led to widespread cancellations and delays. The regulator also emphasized that the new schedule would increase the total number of Avanti services to the North West, even as some popular routes are lost.
Looking ahead, the future of Avanti West Coast itself is uncertain. The company is expected to come under public ownership by spring 2027, marking yet another chapter in the turbulent tale of Britain’s railways. In the meantime, the “ghost train” will serve as a visible, if empty, reminder of the complexities and contradictions of rail planning in the UK.
For now, travelers hoping to reach London before 9am will have to catch an earlier, slower train. The fastest remaining services between Manchester and London will take about two hours and 15 minutes, meaning the convenience—and cachet—of the 7am express is lost, at least for the foreseeable future.
It’s a situation that has left many wondering: in the quest for a more reliable and competitive railway, are passengers—and taxpayers—getting left behind?
