Northern - postponement of December changes

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Telegraph and Argus

BRADFORD rail users face a double blow after it was announced that a number of direct services linking the area to key destinations like Manchester Airport and Liverpool will not be introduced in December as planned.

And the much hated Pacer trains that were due to be removed from service by the end of the year will still be used on local lines until next Summer.

[snip]

Reasons for the delays include insufficient capacity, a shortage of trains and a lack of staff working on Sundays.
The same report reveals that despite promises from the government that the hated Pacer trains would not be operating after Christmas, at least 23 Pacers would still be operating, with a phasing out now expected by Summer 2020.

Some services, including the services between Bradford and Huddersfield will still be operated using Pacers.

The Combined Authority's Transport Committee will receive a report on Friday that says: "It can be seen that some changes that should have been introduced in December 2019 under Northern’s Train Service Requirement will not be.

The main such improvements not taking place are:

New Bradford Interchange – Leeds – Wakefield Westgate – Sheffield – Nottingham fast service.

Direct links from Bradford, Halifax and Calder Valley to Manchester Airport and to Liverpool.

New additional Bradford to Manchester train via Halifax and the Calder Valley.

An additional hourly service on Sundays the Calder Valley line Leeds – Bradford Interchange – Halifax – Manchester Victoria.

Noting that the paper is taking a reader vote - "Do you think Bradford will still be served by Pacer trains in 2021?".  Spoiler - 4 people out of 5 think it will.  Which shows a lack of faith in the timescales offered by the "powers that be".

[grahame]

Troubles at Northern rumble on ...  From the Manchester Evening News

The operator has told government that Pacers won’t be gone from Manchester’s railways by the end of 2019, despite promises. In the background, government officials have been discussing whether to rip up the troubled franchise's contract

The franchising system is designed to produce innovation and efficiency through companies competing with each other for business.  But companies competing also means some succeeding and some failing, with significant questions as to how the pieces are picked up in the event of a failure.  I personally have some misgivings about passing back control and (as a last resort) to the very organisation that awarded the franchise in the first place and must to some degree bear responsibility.