Pacer replacement

[northwichcat]

Manchester (from Lostock Jct) - Wigan - Southport has already been proposed for electrification, also the North Wales Coast line.

Neither of those are on the list of routes the electrification task force are examining in advance of announcing CP6 schemes next year.

Chester-Crewe and Warrington-Chester are included. Maybe North Wales will be a CP7 or CP8 scheme if both those go ahead?

Wigan-Bolton-Manchester is being electrified as a CP5 scheme. Southport services are all expected to run via Atherton once that happens. Network Rail are currently looking at making platforms at stations between Wigan and Southport long enough for 4 car 156s.

 

[Chris125]

Do Turbostars meet the current crash regs? If they do and a suitable engine could be found, would there be any routes that use Pacers that a new build of Turbostars wouldn't be suitable for?

IIRC the Turbostar design doesn't meet the updated cab crashworthiness standards and it would also be challenging to fit an engine meeting the latest emission standards - they had enough trouble with the 172s, whose issues and delays presumably affected the profitability of the order. I doubt they'd be keen to repeat the experience, at least not at a sensible price.

Chris