The End of Pacers (And 'that' documentary)
Pacers (class 142/144s) have become the trains that passengers love to hate and the mainstream media loves to use as a weapon to attack government policy with. Now however the end is in sight for the units which are now over 30 years old. By the end of this year (2019) the entire fleet of Pacers operated by Northern will have been phased out. In order to achieve this new trains are being built and some existing trains are being delivered as they come off lease from other operators.
The good news for passengers is brand new trains are on the way, the introduction of which will see the phasing out completely of Pacers on routes operated by Northern. It is unfortunate however that the introduction of the class 195 DMUs has been delayed. The first class 195 was delivered to Northern for testing in June 2018, and it was expected that it would enter service in December 2018. Unfortunately during testing faults were found, and it wasn't until December 2018 that the units were cleared for passenger use. As far as I can tell driver training on the class 195s didn't begin until February this year, with Northern now saying the new trains will begin to enter passenger service in early 2019.
Class 195s aren't the only new trains being delivered to Northern, the operator is taking delivery of new class 331 EMUs which should also begin to enter service this year. Although Northern will eventually have 98 new trains in service, that doesn't mean that Pacers are to be replaced by the new trains. Some older units such as class 150/6/8s, 170s and 319s will remain in service with the 150s replacing Pacers. However Northern's train refurbishment programme which had refurbished the 100th train in February is completely transforming these units. Existing trains will feature upgraded seating, disabled access controlled emission toilets (to comply with PRM TSI rules which come into force in 2020) new floor coverings and LED lighting which will provide “a lighter and brighter on-board environment”. In total 243 units operated by Northern will be refurbished.
All this is great news for passengers who have been waiting a long time for improvements to materialise. Delays in the arrival of new trains and the May 2018 timetable fiasco has meant that passengers have had a tough time and have rightly felt annoyed. However change on this scale is never easy and Northern can't be held fully responsible for the May time table chaos, which was down to a catalogue of failures rather than the fault of one organisation.
'That' documentary.
The fact that brand new trains are on the way hasn't stopped some in the media from using Pacers to attack government policy, specifically over the construction of HS2. I couldn't bring myself to watch the now infamous Dispatches documentary, however the premise as far I could gather was, that the government should invest in the North rather than building HS2. Now I could go on at length why this is wrong on many levels, but I'm more interested in the fact that it seems as if the old Pacer was again used as an example of under-investment in the North. Had this “documentary” been made just 12 months later, say mid-late 2019, the one weapon that was eagerly wielded would no longer exist, at least not on routes operated by Northern. Instead what Liam Halligan who wrote and presented the documentary would have found was a mix of brand new trains and existing trains which have been refurbished to a high standard.
Even in late 2018 Halligan could of stood in Liverpool Lime St and explained that it had recently undergone a huge upgrade (part of a wider £340m investment in the Liverpool City region), next to a recently refurbished electric class 319 with 4 cars, which are quiet and spacious, and a world away from the Pacers which are being phased out. But no, the focus was on the old Pacer and the unhappy passengers who have had to endure them for decades.
I didn't really want to get drawn into writing about the Dispatches documentary, but it is programmes and news stories like this that really annoy me. Forget the tenuous HS2 or Northern investment argument, what gets my back up is mainstream media's continued insistence on focusing only on the negative when it comes to the railways despite of the facts, which are clearly there for all to see.
Now I know new and refurbished trains won't make up for the lack of investment in the North but they will go a long way to providing passengers with the modern, fast and reliable service that they deserve. With Pacers gone, maybe class the class 150s, which despite being fully refurbished, will themselves be over 30 years old, will be the mainstream media's next target. One thing is for sure attacking train operating companies over the how old their trains are and calling for HS2 to be cancelled will not mean that Northern Powerhouse Rail is built any faster.
Below are just a few links to blogs that I have written about improvements in the North that are already, or will soon be benefiting passengers
The good news for passengers is brand new trains are on the way, the introduction of which will see the phasing out completely of Pacers on routes operated by Northern. It is unfortunate however that the introduction of the class 195 DMUs has been delayed. The first class 195 was delivered to Northern for testing in June 2018, and it was expected that it would enter service in December 2018. Unfortunately during testing faults were found, and it wasn't until December 2018 that the units were cleared for passenger use. As far as I can tell driver training on the class 195s didn't begin until February this year, with Northern now saying the new trains will begin to enter passenger service in early 2019.
[Click to enlarge]
Northern class 142 at Chester Station
Class 195s aren't the only new trains being delivered to Northern, the operator is taking delivery of new class 331 EMUs which should also begin to enter service this year. Although Northern will eventually have 98 new trains in service, that doesn't mean that Pacers are to be replaced by the new trains. Some older units such as class 150/6/8s, 170s and 319s will remain in service with the 150s replacing Pacers. However Northern's train refurbishment programme which had refurbished the 100th train in February is completely transforming these units. Existing trains will feature upgraded seating, disabled access controlled emission toilets (to comply with PRM TSI rules which come into force in 2020) new floor coverings and LED lighting which will provide “a lighter and brighter on-board environment”. In total 243 units operated by Northern will be refurbished.
Refurbished class 319 interior
'That' documentary.
The fact that brand new trains are on the way hasn't stopped some in the media from using Pacers to attack government policy, specifically over the construction of HS2. I couldn't bring myself to watch the now infamous Dispatches documentary, however the premise as far I could gather was, that the government should invest in the North rather than building HS2. Now I could go on at length why this is wrong on many levels, but I'm more interested in the fact that it seems as if the old Pacer was again used as an example of under-investment in the North. Had this “documentary” been made just 12 months later, say mid-late 2019, the one weapon that was eagerly wielded would no longer exist, at least not on routes operated by Northern. Instead what Liam Halligan who wrote and presented the documentary would have found was a mix of brand new trains and existing trains which have been refurbished to a high standard.
Recently refurbished class 150 at Liverpool Lime Street
Even in late 2018 Halligan could of stood in Liverpool Lime St and explained that it had recently undergone a huge upgrade (part of a wider £340m investment in the Liverpool City region), next to a recently refurbished electric class 319 with 4 cars, which are quiet and spacious, and a world away from the Pacers which are being phased out. But no, the focus was on the old Pacer and the unhappy passengers who have had to endure them for decades.
Longer platforms at Liverpool Lime St
I didn't really want to get drawn into writing about the Dispatches documentary, but it is programmes and news stories like this that really annoy me. Forget the tenuous HS2 or Northern investment argument, what gets my back up is mainstream media's continued insistence on focusing only on the negative when it comes to the railways despite of the facts, which are clearly there for all to see.
Refurbished class 319 at Liverpool Lime Street
Below are just a few links to blogs that I have written about improvements in the North that are already, or will soon be benefiting passengers
- Liverpool Lime Street transformation
- Northern goes electric
- Ordsall Chord - key milestone
- Halton curve
- North West electrification - Farnworth tunnel
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