Northern Powerhouse: Rail franchise announcement

On the 9th of December 2015 the DfT finally revealed who will be operating rail services in the North from next year. Prior to the announcement the future of rail services in the North looked uncertain, with a number of trains being moved South with no obvious replacement.

However the DfT's announcement contained a few pleasant surprises. The main surprise being that the North will see the arrival a greater number of new trains by 2019 than originally anticipated.  The number of new carriages announced has jumped from 120 prior to this announcement to over 500. The Dft also confirmed that Pacers will be removed all together by 2020

Our previous estimate for carriages in the North up to 2020 with the removal of Pacers gave the region an overall reduction of carriages of 3. However with this announcement the North so far could see a possible overall gain of 378 by 2020.

Updated carriage assumptions (click to enlarge)

The Transpennine franchise is to be retained by First who will operate the franchise until March 2023. First have promised to introduce 44 new 200km/h trains comprised of 5 cars. With the new trains they will introduce new direct services to Scotland from Liverpool.

Services from Liverpool to Glasgow will begin from December 2018 and existing services from Liverpool to Newcastle will be extended to Edinburgh from December 2019.

The current Northern Rail franchise which is currently operated by a joint venture between Serco and Abellio will from next be operated by Arriva Rail North. Like First, Arriva have promised new trains and say they will introduce a total of 281 new carriages comprised of a mixture of new DMUs and EMUs from 2019.

End of the line for unpopular Pacers

The new trains will help to bolster capacity on busy routes, aid the removal of Pacers and enable the introduction of new services. The new routes which will be launched from 2019 include: 

"New direct journeys from Bradford to Wakefield, Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool and Hull; from Leeds to Chester and Bridlington; from Lincoln to Leeds; and from Manchester Airport to Warrington, Bradford and Halifax" DfT

Arriva will also introduce a new high-quality ‘Northern Connect’ service, which will provide longer-distance services, with faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi.


So is the promised Northern Powerhouse finally beginning to take shape? 

To see how your journey could benefit check out the Interactive map on the DfT's website

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Northern stock - all change

Update December 2015

On the 24th August (2015) the BBC reported Commuter groups angry at train 'cuts' from North West. The shock headline felt like another blow for passengers in the North who have already seen trains move south.

In May (2015) First TPE lost 5 of it's class 170s which are owned by Porterbrook Leasing to Chiltern Railways. In total FTPE will lose 9 of it's 170s, however an agreement was reached which meant that FTPE could keep hold of 4 170s until February 2016.

First TPE 170 stand at Manchester Airport March 2014

In the meantime FTPE have subleased 6 class 156s from Northern rail in order to provide services between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North. Class 185s have in turn moved to services between Manchester and Hull via Leeds in order to make up for the loss of 170s.

Northern has benefited from the arrival of refurbished 319s which are operating on newly electrified lines between Liverpool Manchester and Preston, however Northern has been forced to hire loco hauled trains due to shortages.

Northern class 319 on the first day of electric services between Liverpool and Manchester

2, 4 coach Mk2 sets hauled by class 37s have been leased from DRS to provide services on the Cumbrian coastline. This in turn released a unit to provide an hourly service between Manchester and Burnley over the recently reopened Todmorden Curve.

Despite First TPE introducing 10 brand new class 350s on it's Manchester to Scotland service, the loss of 5 170s has meant a lot of timetable and unit reshuffling. The reshuffle is only a short term measure and it is uncertain what will happen after February 2016 when a further 4 170s move to Chiltern. 

So it it would seem understandable then that commuter groups should feel angry at the loss of 17 electric trains from Northern. The 323s are currently used on a number of services including Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe via Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield.

What the BBC report does not say however is that the move is not due to take place until 2018/2019.

Porterbrook Commercial Director Olivier Andre told RAIL on August 25: “All the bidders for the Northern franchise have access to the Class 323 until 2018/2019. source Rail

London Midland 323 leaving Crewe

It's not all good news for London Midland either, as in December this year (2015) 7 of it's class 321s will be moving North to Scotrail to provide services between Glasgow Central and Lanark.  London Midland will make up for this loss by leasing class 319s which are being cascaded from Thameslink services. 

The reason for this shuffling of stock is due to the fact that both the First TPE and Northern franchises are due to come to an end in February 2016. In fact they were supposed to end in March this year (2015) but were awarded an extension to 2016. Therefore the companies that lease the trains face uncertainty about the future of the their rolling stock. 

It is for this reason that Porterbrook has chosen to lease it's trains to an operating company who can offer more long term certainty. Chiltern in Contrast to Northern and First TPE has a franchise agreement which extends to 2021.

The report does go on to say that "A spokesman from the Department of Transport said they would bring in "at least 120 brand new carriages".". This of course is good news for the North, however it will not solve the capacity problem in the short or medium term.  The 120 new diesel units which will not be available for several years are intended specifically to replace the unpopular Pacer units operated by Northern of which it has over 100. 

A quick tally of what we know so far about train movements and new trains promised by the government gives the North a potential overall loss of 3 carriages by 2020, assuming the north retains 319s and 15Xs which will be getting on for between 30 and 35 years old by then.

[Edit] Table adjusted to take into account number of carriages rather than simply the number of train units 

click to enlarge

It's taken a lot of investigation and this is an evolving situation. If you spot a mistake or have an update feel free to comment or e-mail Blog@EngineeringFocus.co.uk

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Northern goes electric

Today (05/03/15) was a significant day for commuters from the North West as Northern Rail officially launched electric services between Liverpool and Manchester.  For the majority of commuters it will be just a normal day, they may notice the freshly painted train waiting for them at the platform, they may notice the lack of engine noise and the fresh new interiors. But for the many they will be surprised to find a seat, apart from this their day will go on as normal.

For businesses, Northern Rail, transport workers and enthusiasts however this is a momentous day. The culmination of years of hard work by Network Rail, Northern Rail and those who have lobbied for electrification over the years.

The electrification of the line between Liverpool and Manchester, and the introduction of new electric trains is just the start of a programme of electrification which will benefit millions of commuters across the region as other lines go live. 

Liverpool, Wigan, Preston and Blackpool services are all due to go electric over the coming years, with electric trains steadily heading north for refurbishment and introduction on Northern routes. For more information about North West electrification click here

The trains

The electric services themselves may be new to the region, but the trains are not. In fact the class 319s that are being introduced have been in service in London since the 1980s. This has lead to accusation by some that the trains are "cast offs from the south"

I'm delighted to say however, that they certainly do not feel like "cast offs". The trains are a world away from the diesels that they are replacing. All trains entering service with Northern will be refurbished and given a new coat of paint making them look fresh and modern.

The trains on the inside are not what you would describe as luxurious, there are no tables and have 3 + 2 seating in places, however they are ideally suited for carrying people the short distances into Manchester and Liverpool in relative comfort.

The seats are comfortable enough and the ride is quiet, apart from the odd clatter from an air compressor. The train feels comfortable at speed with none of the engine noise of the older diesels and with very little buffeting.

The ride is now comparable with the more modern diesel trains used by Trans Pennine Express, with the only draw back being a lack of tables. Otherwise there is nothing to choose between TPE's modern diesels and Northern's electric trains if you're travelling between Liverpool and Manchester.


Perhaps it would be nice if we in the North received new electric trains, but the new electric services being introduced provide a step change in comfort, capacity and hopefully speed that should not be scoffed at.