Northern Rail

[wirralbus]

RE: Northern Rail
I think it will be a giant backward step if the Liverpool - Manchester Airport service was made any slower than the service now offered . I don't think the stakeholder 'Manchester Airport ' would be happy at that either .

[knutstransport]

RE: Northern Rail

(09/12/2015 16:28)wirralbus Wrote:  I think it will be a giant backward step if the Liverpool - Manchester Airport service was made any slower than the service now offered . I don't think the stakeholder 'Manchester Airport ' would be happy at that either .

Why would it be slower? TPE's timings for Liverpool-Piccadilly via Warrington is almost identical to Northern's timings for Liverpool-Piccadilly via Chat Moss. Arriva will be taking the current Liverpool-Scarborough path to run a Liverpool-Airport via Warrington service as all TPE services will go via Chat Moss, so surely it will benefit the Airport to give a major town like Warrington a proper direct Airport service.

[St Helens Rider]

RE: Northern Rail
It does sound like a better deal for the Chat Moss line as I presume the TPE Scarborough service will call at some intermediate stations as it does now (unlike the Newcastle service) and as well as that there will be the Northern Connect Liverpool - Leeds service. A return to common sense as this is the quickest Liverpool - Manchester route.

[SK15 GZG (Moderator)]

RE: Northern Rail
I'm extremely pleased that Arriva has won the franchise - however I do think that credit must go to Serco-Abellio who in my opinion have done a very good job with the Northern franchise and they deserve a lot of praise for the investment and improvements they've made since 2004. The 281 new diesel and electric carriages for the North West and Yorkshire is an excellent investment and I really can't wait to see them enter service - it will certainly be interesting to see what they are. I'm sure we'll find out in the not too distant future

Very interesting and exciting times ahead for rail services in Northern England that's for sure

[RedPanda]

RE: Northern Rail
Great to see something like this happening in the north. I didn't know that Northern or part of Northern rail was up for sale. It's fantastic to hear news of the investment in new trains and the wifi. The outdated pacer trains aren't just hated for me but an eyesore if ever I see one. I'm sure everybody will be glad to see the back of them.
I can't see the 10 route (Liverpool-St Helens) being revised as Arriva Buses Wales are the main bus operator in North Wales and Arriva Trains Wales are the main train operator in North Wales. So why change one (Liverpool-St Helens) and not the other (North Wales). There may be some differces between the the English and Welsh transport acts but I wouldn't imagine there being that much of a difference as its the UK.

On a different note are Arriva taking over all Northern Rail and Northern Electrics operations or just a number?

[motormayhem1]

RE: Northern Rail
All of northern will become arriva northern trains

[RedPanda]

RE: Northern Rail

(09/12/2015 21:30)Dentonian Wrote:  They aren't "selling up". Abellio have just lost the franchise to Arriva. Its the same system as buses in London, but with even more eye-watering amounts of public subsidy. Indeed, Northern Rail has/had the heaviest subsidy per passenger of any Franchisee in the UK, at over £7 per journey.

Not sure I agree about Pacers either. At least they are open. The next newest (I can't remember the names - 150 xxx) are claustrophobic and like an obstacle course.

I hope the new trains have legroom for people who are 6ft plus. I took a trip from Bidston to Heswall on an Arriva train and my legs were round my neck.

[SK15 GZG (Moderator)]

RE: Northern Rail

(09/12/2015 21:30)Dentonian Wrote:  The next newest (I can't remember the names - 150 xxx) are claustrophobic and like an obstacle course.

The 15x units are the Sprinter family - there's the Sprinter (Class 150), Super Sprinter (Class 153, 155 and 156) and Express Sprinter (Class 158). The 153s were originally built as two car 155s but they were modified into single car units in the 1990s to replace older railcars - as a result the 155s are very rare with only seven units in service on the UK rail network

[wirralbus]

RE: Northern Rail
Does this Northern franchise operate Class 153's , if so are these units going to be made to comply with the disability regulations .

[childwallblues]

RE: Northern Rail

(10/12/2015 00:34)wirralbus Wrote:  Does this Northern franchise operate Class 153's , if so are these units going to be made to comply with the disability regulations .

You can find Northern 153s at Ormskirk on the Preston service. They mainly operate in the Leeds and Manchester area where they would normally be added to a two car train. They also operate on Cumbrian Coast and the Barton-on Humber services.