Northern 331/1s

[mcnw35282]

I remember reading somewhere that Northern were transferring their 4-car 331/1s to the north west and sending the 3 car 331/0s the opposite way...is this still happening?

 

[Halish Railway]

Yes, documents by the Manchester Region Task Force talk about a unit exchange or other words of a similar nature, alluding to the swap of 331/0s and 331/1s.

Announced platform extensions across the northwest are presumably to permit to the use of pairs of 323s instead of pairs of 331/0s, some of which are coming from the West Midlands - The 323s don’t have selective door opening, hence the need to extend platforms to fully accommodate 6 carriage train. Electric services west of the Pennines not operated by 6 carriage trains will be worked by 331/1s.

What I’m not sure about is how many of the 331/0s will transfer east. The Liverpool to Wigan line hasn’t had any platform extensions announced AFAIK, but in my experience warrents more than a four carriage train, so pairs of 331/0s on the all stations service with their selective door opening capability would be appreciated.

 

[py_megapixel]

Announced platform extensions across the northwest are presumably to permit to the use of pairs of 323s instead of pairs of 331/0s, some of which are coming from the West Midlands

Which, if any, stations in the north west currently have in-progress or "shovel-ready" platform extension schemes? I didn't think there were any at the moment.

 

[Agent_Squash]

Which, if any, stations in the north west currently have in-progress or "shovel-ready" platform extension schemes? I didn't think there were any at the moment.

There’s certainly some work on the Cumbria lines so 6x195s can run via Bolton that came with the IRP.

 

[Halish Railway]

Which, if any, stations in the north west currently have in-progress or "shovel-ready" platform extension schemes? I didn't think there were any at the moment.

In relation to electric services, this article talks about the Chat Moss route.

UK allocates £84m to improve train services in North West

The UK Government is set to invest £84m to provide better train services for passengers in Manchester and North West regions.

www.railway-technology.com

The UK Government is set to invest £84m to provide better train services for passengers in Manchester and North West regions.

The funding will be used for platform extensions for longer trains, trackside upgrades, and larger depots across the region.

As part of the Secretary of State’s Manchester Recovery Task Force’s (MRTF) plans, the funding will help upgrade infrastructure to improve day-to-day journeys of train passengers in the North West.

Currently, works are in process to modernise track-side equipment between Manchester and Liverpool, as well as extend platforms on the Cumbrian route.

Edit: There is a thread that talks about this, along with more long term projects like electrifying the CLC and Manchester Victoria to Rochdale, although I can’t find it.

 

[Purple Orange]

Yes, documents by the Manchester Region Task Force talk about a unit exchange or other words of a similar nature, alluding to the swap of 331/0s and 331/1s.

Announced platform extensions across the northwest are presumably to permit to the use of pairs of 323s instead of pairs of 331/0s, some of which are coming from the West Midlands - The 323s don’t have selective door opening, hence the need to extend platforms to fully accommodate 6 carriage train. Electric services west of the Pennines not operated by 6 carriage trains will be worked by 331/1s.

What I’m not sure about is how many of the 331/0s will transfer east. The Liverpool to Wigan line hasn’t had any platform extensions announced AFAIK, but in my experience warrents more than a four carriage train, so pairs of 331/0s on the all stations service with their selective door opening capability would be appreciated.

So how will this work in the North West? I assume that eventu the EMU fleet will be purely 323, 331-0 and 331-1 units, with the 319 and 769 units moved on?

Could it therefore mean 4-car 331s on the Crewe & Stoke lines via Stockport, 6-car on the Blackpool & Liverpool services to Manchester?

 

[AMD]

The Liverpool to Wigan line hasn’t had any platform extensions announced AFAIK, but in my experience warrents more than a four carriage train, so pairs of 331/0s on the all stations service with their selective door opening capability would be appreciated.

The all stops service returns to two an hour from December which will relieve capacity issues. Also running pairs of 331/0s doesn't work very well as the rear two cars normally run more or less empty for most of the day, because they are off the platform at every intermediate station (apart from St Helens).

The original plan was to see pairs of 323s run on the Chorley route, however with the proposed transfer of the WM 323s unlikely to happen until late 2024 (if at all), the whole plan is currently being reworked - watch this space basically!