Northern

First Pacers leave Northern
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date 3 December 2019
source Northern
type Press release

Northern has said a permanent goodbye to the first three Pacers to leave the network for good.

Three Pacers have been removed and returned to owning company Angel Trains, with many more to follow in the coming weeks.

Northern had a fleet of 102 class 142 and class 144 pacers and the first one (142 005) was retired in August this year – it has been in storage at the Heaton train depot since.

By the end of the year the majority of remaining Pacers will be removed from customer service, with only a handful remaining. All retired Pacers will be stored at a train depot in Worksop before being broken down for scrap.

Initially introduced by British Rail as a short term measure, some Pacers have been operating for almost 35 years across the north of England.

David Brown, Northern’s Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to be delivering on our commitments of removing Pacers from customer service and, at the same time, introducing 101 brand-new trains.

“Whilst pacers have served the north well, we know that they are old, outdated and not popular with our customers. For these reasons, when we won the right to being operating the franchise in 2016, we developed plans to remove them all from service.

“At least 55 of the 102 Pacers will be permanently retired by the end of this year, with the remainder all gone by May next year.

“We are transforming our business and service to customers with a £600m investment in brand new and refurbished trains – and improvements at stations – that will provide everything a 21st Century customer expects.”

Kevin Tribley, CEO of Angel Trains, said: “The first three Pacer trains coming off-lease from Northern marks the company’s move to replacing the entire fleet and its commitment to improving customer service and experience.

“Although the Pacers have served the north well for many years, their scrappage is a significant move towards an improved rail network across the region.

“As Northern’s partners, Angel Trains is committed to investing in, and creating, the railway of the future by delivering and enhancing assets that modern UK passengers deserve. Replacing the Pacers as they reach the end of their life-span is a natural step towards this goal.”

Contact Information
Glyn Hellam
Media Manager
Northern

07795 008693

Glyn.Hellam@northernrailway.co.uk


Notes to editors

The Pacers withdrawn from the network are units 142 016, 142 022 and 142 025.

About Angel Trains
Angel Trains is one of Britain’s leading train leasing companies and has been an owner and lessor of rolling stock since 1994. The company leases to 18 franchised operators and two open access operators in the UK. Angel Trains is passionate about financing and delivering high quality, modern assets to its customers and is committed to working with the Government, the Rail Delivery Group and other stakeholders to provide innovative funding solutions to modernise and improve the UK's train fleet. Angel Trains has invested £5.0 billion in new rolling stock and refurbishment programmes since 1994 and is one of the largest private investors in the industry. www.angeltrains.co.uk

About Northern
Arriva Rail North Limited operates the Northern franchise. Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK and it will run regional and commuter services across the north until March 2025.
The operator has begun to oversee the removal of Pacer trains and the first of 101 brand new trains, part of a £500 million investment in regional rail, have been introduced.
Other improvements on the Northern network include:
o more than 2,000 extra services each week, with around 400 additional Sunday services, including new direct journeys from Bradford to Wakefield, Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool and Hull; from Leeds to Chester and Bridlington; from Lincoln to Leeds; and from Manchester Airport to Warrington, Bradford and Halifax

o a nearly 40% increase in capacity - creating space for 31,000 extra customers travelling into the five major commuter cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle) of the north during the morning rush-hour
o a new high-quality 'Northern Connect' service, meaning new or refurbished trains on longer-distance services, faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi at each one - as well as serving the five major commuter cities, this network will also serve other destinations including Bradford, Halifax, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Lincoln, Worksop and Retford
o improved ticketing, including mobile and print-at-home tickets, and discounted fares for jobseekers.

To find out more about the work we are doing to improve our network please click here.

Northern provides 2,800 local and regional train services every day across the north of England, serving a population of nearly 15 million. There are now 100 million passenger journeys made on our network each year.

Railhub Archive ::: 2019-12-03 NOR-001