Could Pacers be retained and modified to comply with accessibility legislation?

[jtuk]

Hi,

Couldn't find any existing thread that wasn't locked, mods feel free to move into the crayons if needed, but in the wake of myself and others I know being disrupted by severe overcrowding in various places in the North this weekend, I'm wondering how the DDA and 142s not being compliant would actually work in practice.

If Northern or anyone else eventually gets round to replacing them in the near future and DDA compliant trains are being run as standard, is there anything preventing the stock being retained for strengthening purposes? I would have thought that it isn't a requirement that the whole train needs to be compliant, more that some of it is?

Obviously there might be issues with where to store them if not being used, but I would have thought there would be benefits of being able to bolt them on to compliant stock in the commuter peaks and during special events in lieu of actually having a joined up railway that's fit for purpose?

 

[Surreytraveller]

Trains being stored would still need to be maintained. Driver competency would still need to be kept up to date. So storage ready to pull out at will isn't really a suitable option.

 

[Sweetjesus]

Hi,

Couldn't find any existing thread that wasn't locked, mods feel free to move into the crayons if needed, but in the wake of myself and others I know being disrupted by severe overcrowding in various places in the North this weekend, I'm wondering how the DDA and 142s not being compliant would actually work in practice.

If Northern or anyone else eventually gets round to replacing them in the near future and DDA compliant trains are being run as standard, is there anything preventing the stock being retained for strengthening purposes? I would have thought that it isn't a requirement that the whole train needs to be compliant, more that some of it is?

Obviously there might be issues with where to store them if not being used, but I would have thought there would be benefits of being able to bolt them on to compliant stock in the commuter peaks and during special events in lieu of actually having a joined up railway that's fit for purpose?

Northern is receiving new rolling stock, if they felt it was necessary to strengthen some services, I'm sure they would have ordered more rolling stocks instead of retaining some of older rolling stocks.

 

[crosscity]

Trains being stored would still need to be maintained. Driver competency would still need to be kept up to date. So storage ready to pull out at will isn't really a suitable option.

It might not be long-term, but the OP asks an interesting question. What about a short-term arrangement until the bulk of the new trains are in service?

 

[Surreytraveller]

It might not be long-term, but the OP asks an interesting question. What about a short-term arrangement until the bulk of the new trains are in service?

How short is short-term? How often within the roster cycle does each driver drive each type of stock? How long does a driver go without driving a particular type of stock before they cross it off their competency list?
I don't doubt its an interesting question, but its Sod's law that the one time you want to strengthen a service, its the one time the driver you've got doesn't sign Pacers

 

[PHILIPE]

There s a thread here which is not locked. Admittedly it is a long thread so suggest you just read the last few pages where you'll find the up to date news:-

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/northern-pacer-withdrawals-info.166981/page-47

 

[Bletchleyite]

I believe the 144e Evolution Pacer refurb is PRM compliant, though making it so reduced the capacity to be a bit more like a 153, which means there are very few lines where it would be suitable. If they can't make the 230s work properly three of those would suit the Marston Vale quite well, but I can't think of many other cases, even branch lines, where loadings are so low that that sort of thing would suit long term - well, I can think of one, the Conwy Valley, but it's too bendy for Pacers, I believe one went down there once and got stuck.

 

[Chester1]

It might not be long-term, but the OP asks an interesting question. What about a short-term arrangement until the bulk of the new trains are in service?

That is what is happening until the PRM deadline. The 7 withdrawn have been stored by Northern and could be used again during leaf fall season. There will be a limit to how many they can temporarily store and they won't keep any that are due for or require heavy maintenance. None of the 142s are being granted derogations and cannot be used next year.