North of England needs more permanent fixes

[bluenoxid]

Maybe we could try this as an experiment? With bench seating of course?

This could backfire with them having the vast majority of the top 10 most overcrowded trains in Britain.

 

[Minstral25]

Pacers aren't quick to accelerate and their acceleration is affected by overcrowding a lot more than other trains. They are also 75mph top speed. This would be a problem in London but is also a problem currently in Manchester. Stockport-Manchester allows 90mph running but because Northern have so many 75mph paths it means there aren't enough paths at peak times so some lines have less services to Manchester then they actually need.

Most Class 165's are limited to 75mph as well (Class 166's go faster hence there use on longer distance trains) but they do accelerate well with a full load.

It would be fun to see a 10 coach pacer leaving Paddington for Oxford or Newbury.

With 75% of all passenger journeys ending in London (and most of them are commuter journeys not long distance), its not a surprise that sorting out that underinvestment mess from the 80's and 90's has been a priority, especially with the law banning most of the units in use in the early part of the 2000's. The accountants prevented enough units being bought then and we are suffering from the bad investment decisions then which are slowly being corrected (what if they had built Thameslink properly in 1989 - lack of vision and being cheap has meant the current massive works)

I think towards the end of this decade the picture will swap with more work being undertaken "up North (South and West)". The Pacer DDA issue is similar to the slam door replacement issues of the late 90's. Lets hope the Accountants don't ruin that one!!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I note the thoughts on the Caldervale line.... when did it change from Calderdale?

Good point has been raised. Anyone with any answers as when this change of name occurred?

 

[northwichcat]

Good point has been raised. Anyone with any answers as when this change of name occurred?

Apparently Metro changed the name so it didn't sound like Calderdale council were responsible for the line.

 

[martinsh]

With regards to "prettier", there are two towns with the word "Bridge" in them, that see services from Manchester to West Yorkshire. These are Hebden Bridge and Guide Bridge...which of these two areas are deemed to be the "prettier" :roll:

What's wrong with Sowerby Bridge ?!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What's wrong with Sowerby Bridge ?!

I was comparing the relative attributes of one town with another on either side of the Pennines, to follow the word "prettier" that was used in an earlier posting. I think that Hebden Bridge has rather more tourist potential than Sowerby Bridge and even more so, when compared to Guide Bridge.