UK: Following a temporary reprieve to provide additional capacity during the pandemic, Northern has operated its final passenger service with a Pacer diesel multiple-unit.
Northern’s final Pacer service ran on November 27, when unit 142 004, coupled to 150 225, left Kirkby at 15.36 and arrived at Manchester Victoria at 17.46, bringing to an end more than 35 years of Pacer service in northern England.
In total, 96 Class 142 units were built in 1985-87, of which 79 were allocated to Northern before withdrawal commenced. Reflecting the late delivery of the replacement CAF Class 195 DMUs, Northern’s Class 142s and 23 Class 144s were given dispensation to work beyond the December 2019 deadline for compliance with current accessibility standards.
The Pacers were initially taken out of traffic during March 2020 without ceremony, as Northern focused on delivering the ‘key worker’ timetable as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.
The need to provide additional capacity for social distancing as passengers returned to the railways saw a number of Class 142 and 144 DMUs returned to service, with DfT having granted an additional dispensation for their use, normally coupled to a compliant unit, until 23.59 on December 31 2020. This covered 13 Class 142 and 20 Class 144 units and proved invaluable as the pandemic continued to see a need for social distancing on trains.
Withdrawal had begun on August 12 2019 when set 142 005 was taken out of service. By the time of its withdrawal on November 27 it is estimated that set 142 004 had covered around 3 million miles.
‘The Pacers have kept millions of northerners on the move and, while they have served us well and provided some communities with rail services they may have otherwise lost, it is time to give them a well-earned rest, said Northern’s Regional Director Chris Jackson after the final service. ‘Northern has overseen significant modernisation in recent months and the retiring Pacers have made way for a fleet of 100 brand-new trains which are already serving people across the north of England.’
Although the Pacers will not carry passengers any more, Northern is looking to retain a few units for driver training and route learning purposes. This will avoid the need to take accessible sets out of service at a time when they are needed to facilitate social distancing.
Northern also has 37 Class 153 single-car DMUs which are non-compliant; these have been able to stay in service following a similar DfT dispensation issued on May 13. It is understood that the company is seeking to extend their use until spring 2021 as they also provide valuable additional capacity.
