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How’s that for a station announcement? “The train on platform five is a 7am express from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston via Stockport – but Passengers cannot travel on this service,
From 15 December the plan was: the fastest train on the route between Manchester and London would run as normal, but would only be carried by Avanti West Coast employees.
After a few days of public outcry – as well as the media reporting that this was not the example of the joint railway that had been promised to voters – the decision was reversed. “We have given Network Rail and Avanti permission to make arrangements for the 7am service to continue for passengers,” the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said.
Since the government is desperate to lure passengers from road to rail, this appears to be a sign of contempt for both the passenger and the taxpayer.
But is there more to this decision than meets the eye? And what strange trains are running, or not? Simon Calder is your trainspotter.
The 7am Manchester-London Express sounds useful?
Yes, covering the 184-mile distance between the two cities in 1 hour 59 minutes, the Avanti West Coast Express is the only train of the day that can get you from Manchester to London in less than two hours. All other trains between the two cities stop several times en route. But the seven o’clock call is only at Stockport.
By catching this special train, you can reach the capital before 9 am, without having to wake up at silly o’clock. This is probably the train with the highest proportion of passengers paying the £193 “anytime” one-way fare for the privilege.
In addition to providing business travelers with meetings in London, the train offers good connections from London St Pancras International to Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
What was going to change from December 15 – and why?
The train was to run empty from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. Reason: Allocation of “paths” (railway term that corresponds to airport slots). The regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), is requiring operators to “make tough choices about access” on an “increasingly congested” rail network.
Orr says the 7am express is on a route that Network Rail wants to keep clear as a “firebreak”. Such a policy brings some flexibility into the system to help it recover in the event of a disruption.
The organization originally said: “Our decision on the Manchester-London service was based on strong evidence provided by Network Rail that adding services within ‘firebreak’ paths on the West Coast Main Line would have a detrimental impact on performance.
“If Avanti operates the service as Empty Coaching Stock (ECS), [it] Can be run more flexibly than a booked passenger service. “This can assist in performance management and service recovery during disruption.”
In other words, if a signal or point failure causes a delay to all southbound services, a train carrying no passengers may be diverted – such as the scenic route around Northampton Loop – or may be stopped until the delay ends.
Why didn’t ORR cancel the train? Running an empty service must cost a lot.
Moving approximately 500 tons of metal approximately 200 miles at a speed of 125 mph consumes an enormous amount of energy. Apart from this, wear and tear also occurs on trains and tracks. The train crew needs to be paid.
But the rolling stock simply cannot remain at Longsight depot in Greater Manchester. Running an intercity network linking London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, northern Wales and southern Scotland is a complex business – and the plan is to use that train for other services heading north from London in the morning.
The train operator said he was “disappointed” by the ORR directive. There is clearly demand from passengers for a faster service arriving before 9am – and this would help offset the huge taxpayer subsidy to the railways.
If the train has to go south, any other solution?
I asked the Office of Rail and Road and the Government if there was any other way to keep the route open to generate revenue and deliver the service, such as starting much earlier or taking a different route – such as through the West Midlands?
My second option: selling tickets for 7 a.m., but with caveats. For example, Avanti West Coast might say directly to passengers: “This train is susceptible to delays and disruptions. We will sell you a seat, but if you are late by an hour or more, or the train is canceled, you will not receive compensation.”
But before I could get a reply, Orr came back and said he would pay the £193 and reinstate the right to travel at 7am.
A spokesperson said: “Based on the information we have, we believe that moving this 7am service could have a negative impact on the reliability and punctuality of services on the West Coast Main Line, but we recognize its importance and popularity and will support its continued operation.”
Who decides which trains can run?
The Department for Transport (DfT) determines the majority of trains that must be run – either through its directly operated units, including Greater Anglia, South Western Railways and TransPennine Express, or with strictly written agreements to other franchised operators.
But the Office of Rail and Road must “ensure that the rail industry is competitive and fair”. For example, it chooses which “open access” operations can run. These are privately run routes that often compete with government-run services.
One of these, a Lumo venture from Stirling to London Euston via Carlisle and Preston, will make use of some of the rarefied routes that Avanti West Coast needs to run the services it believes passengers want.
Will this problem remain here?
In the long term, the only way to free up capacity is to build an entirely new high-speed line connecting Manchester to London, on which all fast intercity trains can run. It could be called something like “HS2”.
This was exactly the plan until two years ago when the then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak removes High Speed 2 North of Birmingham – even though the most valuable and essential part of the plan was between the West Midlands and Manchester.
This “ghost train” makes perfectly clear the need to complete HS2 to Manchester. The incoming Labor government did not revive the scheme.
What other ‘ghost trains’ are running in the UK?
The term is generally used to describe trains that run on stretches of track only occasionally during the week. These trains are not intended to perform any useful passenger function, but to meet a legal requirement on several grounds:
- Formally closing a section of track or station can be extremely complex and costly.
- Drivers may need to be familiar with a particular line due to the possibility of route changes
- A railway may have a right of access to private property which it needs to maintain
Examples include an 8.30am Saturday morning Northern train only from Stalybridge to Stockport, with no return service.
Southern England is now the proud owner of the entire “Ghost Line”. Trains on the East West Rail route were due to run from Oxford to Milton Keynes later this month. But Controversy regarding driver-only operation of trains This means that the deadlines have passed and there is no indication of when they will start.
Is this the strangest train timetable story you’ve covered?
This is actually the first joint. The last time something this crazy happened was in the late 1990s. Trains on the West Coast Main Line had to wait up to 10 minutes at various stations along the way for a non-existent train to overtake them.
This was when Eurostar intended to run direct trains to Paris and Brussels. A timetable was implemented to allow trains to connect Manchester and Birmingham with the French capital.
But Eurostar money did not grow: the rise of budget airlines meant that “regional Eurostar” never really took off. But many passengers took longer than necessary to reach their destination due to the futile wait for the actual ghost train to pass.
Read more: How do UK train fares compare to train ticket prices in Europe?