Rail firm privately backtracks on vow to MPs that fleet would be retired by end of year

Northern rail promised MPs last week its fleet of hated “buses-on-rails” would be retired by the end of the year, but it has emerged the firm had already privately warned the transport secretary it might have to keep some of them in service well into 2020.

Rob Warnes, the rail firm’s network planning director, told the all-party parliamentary group (AAPG) on rail in the north that all of its antiquated fleet of Pacers would be gone by the end of the year, according to Ian Mearns, the Labour MP who chairs the AAPG.

But the Guardian understands the firm has been in discussions with the Department for Transport (DfT) for some time over extending the trains’ lives by another year after technical issues during the manufacturing of their replacements.

A DfT spokeswoman confirmed the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, had “received confirmation of the delivery challenges with the Pacers in late June”. She refused to confirm the exact date when that happened.

Pacers have been widely criticised for being too short and outdated in design. Some of them were exported to Iran almost 20 years ago but have been taken out of service there in favour of more modern trains. They still have toilets that flush on to the tracks and do not comply with disability regulations that come into effect in the new year.

Under the terms of its franchise agreement with the government, Northern must get rid of all Pacer trains by 1 January 2020. But on Monday the train company changed its language, telling the Guardian it was “working hard to remove Pacers by the end of the year”.

The mayor of Greater Manchester repeated his call for Northern to be stripped of its franchise. “They made promises to me which they have broken. Only last week they told MPs that Pacers would be gone by the end of the year. I gave them time to sort things out and they haven’t,” Andy Burnham tweeted.

Mearns said: “We had a clear commitment at the APPG: if they don’t now fulfil that undertaking, that will be disappointing to say the least – not least to the passengers who have had the tantalising prospect of new or newer trains waved in front of their noses.”

Northern has invested £500m in 101 trains built by the Spanish firm CAF but a spokesman said there had been a delay after “a small mechanical design issue” had to be fixed. He said: “We worked with CAF to find a solution but this coupler problem had a regrettable and adverse impact on train delivery, testing and driver training.”

On Monday the first nine new trains went into service on the network, boasting plug sockets at every seat, free customer wifi and live-feed information screens.

The spokesman said the first Pacer would be retired in August, adding: “We are working hard to remove the Pacers by the end of the year. Our top priority is to deliver a reliable train service for passengers, and we are therefore keeping our plans for the final date of Pacer operation under review as we bring the new trains into service.”

The Guardian understands that Transport for the North (TfN), the statutory body that advises the government on the north of England’s transport needs, has known for some weeks that some Pacers would have to remain in service in 2020 to fulfil another ambitious timetable change this December.

A TfN spokesman said: “Both Northern and the government have previously committed to the complete withdrawal of these outdated bus-bodied trains by the end of 2019. It would be deeply disappointing and frustrating if this promise was not met.

“Our members – the north’s civic and business leaders – have continuously expressed their frustration over issues with shortened trains, overcrowding and passengers being unable to board services. They see this issue of Pacers as totemic of the lack of investment in the north’s network.”

The DfT said: “Due to delays in manufacturing of new trains, a small number of Pacers may continue on the network into the beginning of the new year.”



