NEWS
Pacers could be ‘modernised’ rather than replaced – DfT
The Department for Transport seems to have backtracked on earlier ministerial statements that the widely-disliked Pacer Class 142-144s on Northern routes would be replaced as part of the upcoming re-franchising process.
Earlier this year, then rail minister Stephen Hammond told MPs: “We expect to ask bidders for the Northern franchise to put forward proposals for the removal of Pacers from the area.”
But a DfT spokesperson has now apparently suggested the trains could be ‘modernised’ rather than replaced, as part of awarding the new contract for the local lines in 2016.
He said: “The Pacer trains have served the railway well, but we recognise that they fall short of many passengers’ expectations.
“That is why we will specifically ask bidders for the franchise how they will replace or modernise these trains to give passengers a better experience.”
Shadow industry minister Ian
Wright MP said: “If you travel on a train in the south east, you get modern facilities. In the north it’s like being in another country.”
The Campaign for Better Transport said it was “ludicrous” to contemplate re-fitting the Pacers when London is having billions spent on new trains for the Thameslink and Crossrail routes.
Getting the Pacers to meet the ‘PRM TSI’
disability access
standards by the end-of-2019 deadline would be another major complication.
Porterbrook, which owns the © Alvey & Towers
Class 143s and Class 144s, has suggested that a major overhaul to meet those requirements could be feasible. Its brochure for
the trains says: “It is an
obvious concern that providing these facilities [for people with reduced mobility] would result in an unacceptable loss of seating, however an innovative proposal has been made to optimise
Electrification ‘wasted’ if north doesn’t get new trains
The millions spent electrifying rail lines in the north could be wasted if there is a shortage of electrified stock to run on them, Rail North has warned.
David Brown, chief executive of Merseytravel, was giving evidence on behalf of Rail North, which represents bodies
northern and
Commons Committee.
councils, Transport
transport to
the Select
Brown (pictured) said: “Lines between Liverpool and Manchester are being electrified and you could run electric trains on those services very quickly, but there is a shortage of newer electric and diesel trains coming to the north to operate those services. That is where there would be a significant missed opportunity.”
He added: “Now is the time to build in requirements [into the Northern and TransPennine franchises] around smart ticketing, upgrades to and replacement
of rolling stock, and service enhancements, to make the most of the electrification that is being produced.”
Fleet cascade
As RTM reported in April, two four- car Class 319s will be transferred from the
Thameslink route to
operate Northern services between Liverpool and Manchester on the newly electrified line via Newton le Willows from December 2014, with 10 to 12 more to follow throughout 2015.
The Class 319s, which were built in the late 1980s by BREL at York and will eventually all be shifted away from Thameslink as the new Siemens-built Class 700s come into operation, will deliver an extra 3,000 seats for passengers in the north west during the peak, the DfT has said.
But Brown reiterated in his evidence to the committee that the north as a whole is reliant on
10 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 14
cascades of ‘used’ electric stock from the south of England – and that this has to change.
He said: “Our view as local authorities in the north is that having adequate electric trains – or, indeed, bigger diesel trains – is absolutely essential to unlock economic growth. And constantly being at the end of a cascade to take trains that are fairly old from elsewhere into the north is not the best way of making the most of electrification.”
In his grilling by MPs, Brown also defended Rail North’s decision not to get involved with the DfT’s consultation on the new northern franchises.
the
interior
layout for the new
facilities. It is proposed to fit a new gangway which will be suitable for wheelchair use, opening out the inner-end of the vehicle and providing a common circulating area between the two doors.”
Angel Trains, which owns the Class 142 Pacers, said last year it intends to withdraw them by 2020.
Crossrail tunnelling more
than 85% complete
The Crossrail tunnel from Limmo Peninsula to Victoria Dock has been completed by tunnel boring machine ‘Jessica’.
The 1,000-tonne machine completed its 900m journey – her second Crossrail tunnel drive – in just nine weeks. Jessica will now be dismantled, with parts returned to manufacturer Herrenknecht for use elsewhere.
Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail chief executive, said: “The end is now in sight on Crossrail’s tunnelling marathon, but there is much more to do in the form of installing railway systems and fitting out the stations.”
TBM tunnelling is due to be completed early next year. The Dragados Sisk JV is constructing the eastern tunnels.
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