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Confirmation of New FGW HST Replacements


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Well documented..... extra staff, gain 57s and their heavy maintenance from oo, she'd extension for wheel lathe and lifting, extra sleucing points, new training building, new cleaning messroom and stores,extra work for 150/158s for enhanced tt to plymouth plus servicing and cleaning of 300s.

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This will be the same government that leaves rolling stock decisions for future franchisees to the market then.... The bids for the next term will be a race to the bottom again. Why not renationalise rather than pretend TOCs and other players have any influence.

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That will be the same government who offer the world to the Northern powerhouse of Yorkshire in the run up to an ellection only to drop it all once back in power.

The HSTs are still giving value for money however the Pacers are now showing there age and were supposed to be replaced within the next few years but now we will have to wait yet again

ONCE AGAIN THE NORTH LOOSES OUT

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The Pacers will be leaving Northern. Bidders would be non-compliant to keep them on fleet strength after 31-12-19.

Dear God, they will be 35+ years old by then and have rattled themselves (& passengers) to bits by then!

 

Not even the Leyland National buses they sprung from have lasted anything like so long.

 

Dava

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Improvements.... interior as per voyager.... same company designers. Think not! Would rather travel on a 158. At least all pz to ply get buffet trolley service..... !

Forgot to mention, SLEP to be 6 coaches daily with flexible birthing rather than the 4 double/8 single berths you have now, so again, more staff required.

Overall, regarding pz to ply,a better service but worse quality if you go further.

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As for pacers, I will miss the views and opening windows, they served their purpose on the routes they were designed for. But much of what they do up country is beyond that. Preservationists start saving as they are good for their lines esp. with correct seating.

 

 

I would rather travel every day in a Leyland National than a Plaxton Pointer ( 15 years ex- pcv driver...! )

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If the pacers are to be history by 2019 then why have RVEL just launched 144 evolution with major internal redesign work undertaken to comply with 2020 disability legislation.

It would appear that these vehicles are likely to be staying around for some time yet ?

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If the pacers are to be history by 2019 then why have RVEL just launched 144 evolution with major internal redesign work undertaken to comply with 2020 disability legislation.

It would appear that these vehicles are likely to be staying around for some time yet ?

Nothing to stop them being cascaded to other franchises unless DaFT stops it.

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That will be the same government who offer the world to the Northern powerhouse of Yorkshire in the run up to an ellection only to drop it all once back in power.

The HSTs are still giving value for money however the Pacers are now showing there age and were supposed to be replaced within the next few years but now we will have to wait yet again 

ONCE AGAIN THE NORTH LOOSES OUT 

Firstly, any chance we can have a sensible thread which isn't dominated by misplaced Northern Angst?

 

You guys are not the only folk running pacers. We have them too here in the South West, which is the place this announcement is really all about. Your pacers and sprinters are pretty much the same age as our pacers and sprinters, strangely enough!

 

You guys have a new franchise coming for Northern which spells out in black and white that pacers must be retired. We don't have that assurance (though it may well happen if cascades go to plan)...

 

Your new franchise also specifies a minimum number of BRAND NEW replacements. We don't have that assurance either, in fact, it's vanishingly unlikely you'll see an order for brand new local trains for Devon and Cornwall any time soon. 

 

Maybe we should start butting into random unrelated threads complaining that WE ARE LOSING OUT ONCE AGAIN every time the slightest thing happens somewhere else!?

 

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If the pacers are to be history by 2019 then why have RVEL just launched 144 evolution with major internal redesign work undertaken to comply with 2020 disability legislation.

It would appear that these vehicles are likely to be staying around for some time yet ?

 

To be strictly accurate, Porterbrook bankrolled and launched 144E.  The project was initiated whilst the DfT vacillated between keeping or mandating withdrawal of Pacers from Northern, in the latter months of 2014.  

 

I think if Porterbrook had their time again, they would think twice before commissioning this.  As it is, the sole unit might roll on beyond 2019 on some branch line....

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 Surely the new stock will be lighter an less damaging to trackwork  also they will be fresh and new I bet the general public will not worry about them especialy as they will reduce travel times ,enthusiasts have a different view to them.Our local units are in need of a refurb as they really are looking knackered inside and the seat cushions do not stop ones bum from hitting the seat frame!

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As for pacers, I will miss the views and opening windows, they served their purpose on the routes they were designed for. But much of what they do up country is beyond that. 

 

I've put in bold, what for me, is the key point.

 

Where Pacers are diagrammed for relatively short journeys I struggle to see the value in replacing them just yet with something new (or newer) that is going to be more costly to buy or lease.  There are in my view other more urgent priorities on the railway and serious questions to resolve first about its funding and how it manages its costs.

 

This is where I think they typically do the job adequately (in this case for both Northern Rail and its passengers) and at a minimum overall cost for the railway - Huddersfield to Wakefield Westgate.  An hourly service over a route distance of about 14 miles, scheduled for 38 minutes end to end (including a 3 minute reversal at Wakefield Kirkgate) and with 3 intermediate stops.

 

144001 at Mirfield East Junction on 30th July 2015.

 

 

 

The real issue for the operators to answer (and where the impact on passengers is properly felt) is where Pacers are diagrammed for wholly inappropriate lengthy journeys.  And in the future that could and should be tackled more effectively through the franchising process.

 

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