The launch of longer six-carriage trains from Manchester to Leeds has been delayed
Replacing Pacer trains, they were due to run from December, but won't hit the tracks until the end of 2021
By
Eleanor Barlow
Paul Britton
NEWS
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The much-maligned Pacer (Image: Mark Waugh Manchester Press Photography Ltd)
Northern has announced a delay in the introduction of longer six-carriage trains travelling between
Manchester and Leeds.
The much-maligned Pacer trains, described as 'trucks on tracks' by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in Manchester last year, are being replaced by the operator in a £500m scheme.
Six-carriage trains were expected to be introduced in December this year to provide 50 per cent more capacity at peak times, serving stations along the route including
Rochdale.
But Northern has announced a delay, saying they won't be available to commuters until the end of 2021.
A spokesman for
Northern, which faced widespread criticism over the chaotic timetable collapse last year, said the wait had been caused by delays with Network Rail improvements to platforms at Leeds railway station.
He said: "Northern is introducing £500m of new trains across its network over the next 12 months to provide a much better experience for customers, with free wi-fi, at-seat power sockets, air conditioning and more space than the trains they will replace.
"The new trains have been planned and ordered as two or three-carriage diesel trains, and three or four-carriage electric trains.
A Pacer in Reddish, Stockport (Image: Mark Waugh Manchester Press Phot)
"The plan for Leeds north west services is to join two of the new three-carriage electric trains together to create a six-carriage formation, providing 50 per cent more capacity at peak times than today.
"However Network Rail delays to building more platform capacity at Leeds station means that the six-carriage formation trains will run when that platform capacity is created, which is expected by December 2021, rather than the original date of December 2019.
Pacers will be replaced by a fleet of new electric Class 331 trains (Image: Evening Gazette)
"In the meantime, from December 2019, Northern will introduce four-carriage, brand new electric trains for customers on the Leeds North West routes, providing a higher standard of customer experience than today."
The operator did not comment on when the decision to delay the introduction of the six-carriage service had been made.
Network Rail said the £161m investment scheme into the railway station, which will include platform alterations, upgrades to signalling and the construction of a new platform, had only recently been announced.
A spokesman said: "The platform scheme had previously been paused and, during this time, Network Rail had not committed to a date for it to be delivered.
"We continue to work with industry partners on this project and we look forward to passengers reaping the benefits when it completes in 2021."
The delay was blamed on work to upgrade Leeds railway station (Image: Evening Gazette)
The hated Pacer trains - a hybrid of a bus and a train - were built in the 1980s with a supposed lifespan of 20 years.
Created by mounting an old bus frame on to train wheels and designed to operate on mainly rural routes, they were supposed to be a stop-gap measure on mainly rural routes, but have been used to serve busy commuter towns and cities ever since.
Iran was the only other country to run Pacers, but the trains there have reportedly been shelved.
There are currently around 102 gracing routes including Manchester to Leeds via Hebden Bridge and Manchester to Wigan and Southport.
They make up 26 per cent of Northern's 397-strong fleet.
