Wed, 21 Jan 2026

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 Decision on Manchester-London 'ghost train' was uninformed, regulator admits

The Office of Road and Rail says it was missing "critical points" when it made a decision.
Larkinson said the team assessing the application didn't ask Avanti for further information, which would have made the points clear. The ORR was dealing with 82 "complex and competing" applications for track access at the time. Even when the train operating company complained in early November, the points they made were not "escalated appropriately". Larkinson described it as "an unusual case, but nevertheless one we will learn from". The regulator has taken responsibility for the decision and is strengthening its processes to reflect the lessons learned. The Transport Committee's chair Ruth Cadbury said the public was understandably baffled by the ORR's decision and welcomed the recognition of responsibility.
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