(11 Dec 2019, 8:59 pm)EL1TE wrote 6 of Newton Heath’s 156s will be allocated to Heaton for the new timetable change, with 2 coming up per day starting from tomorrow(?). They should be 156421, 156441, 156468, 156475, 156488, 156489.
Note that 421 and 441 are ones which have been refurbished in the new blue moquette.

(12 Dec 2019, 12:50 pm)JM03 wrote Will that be applied on any other Heaton 156? Ive only seen it on 156451

(12 Dec 2019, 5:24 pm)EL1TE wrote Not so sure if any more have been done, sorry. I know that 156451 also has USB’s but not sure on WiFi. I’m sure more will start to get done soon though.

(02 Jan 2020, 10:09 am)Andreos1 wrote Hearing Northern have been stripped of their franchise.

(02 Jan 2020, 5:00 pm)streetdeckfan wrote If they have been, I'm surprised it's taken them this long to do it.
Although, I can't help but think what affect this is going to have on the sale of Arriva. If anything, not having that franchise may make Arriva more appealing to any prospective buyers!

I personally rarely use Northern much these days, the extend of my usage is between Bishop and Darlington these days and it's actually pretty rare that it's late (at least when I use it)

(02 Jan 2020, 5:42 pm)Jimmi wrote From a regular user on the Bishop Line, whilst some cancellations occur at times (especially on weekends), the North East side of the network isn't too bad although could be better, the bulk of the issues have come from Yorkshire and the North West where services are being cancelled mostly due to members of train crew being unavailable and sometimes lack of serviceable trains being available.

I'm not quite sure what stripping them of the franchise is going to achieve as it's unlikely the current issues can magically be resolved. The increase of services and the need for more trains in this franchise was always going to be a struggle but delayed delivery of new trains and cascades certainly haven't helped them.

(02 Jan 2020, 5:42 pm)Jimmi wrote From a regular user on the Bishop Line, whilst some cancellations occur at times (especially on weekends), the North East side of the network isn't too bad although could be better, the bulk of the issues have come from Yorkshire and the North West where services are being cancelled mostly due to members of train crew being unavailable and sometimes lack of serviceable trains being available.

I'm not quite sure what stripping them of the franchise is going to achieve as it's unlikely the current issues can magically be resolved. The increase of services and the need for more trains in this franchise was always going to be a struggle but delayed delivery of new trains and cascades certainly haven't helped them.

(29 Jan 2020, 2:31 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Wonder if they'll keep the Northern branding, I don't think they can ever gain public confidence again unless they change it. People have too many bad experiences with them

(30 Jan 2020, 9:56 am)WheelBus1986 wrote I would argue the vast majority of the public couldn't care less what its called. Public confidence will only come back when the service is reliable. 

If the service gets them from A to B on time in a semi comfortable state, they will gain confidence regardless of brand. A rebrand at this point without dramatic service improvement will just be seen as a wolf in sheeps clothing.

(30 Jan 2020, 10:00 am)streetdeckfan wrote I agree to some extent, but I also believe that starting fresh like they did with LNER (although in that case they obviously couldn't keep using Virgin branding!)

I obviously don't think just changing the name would instantly make it better, improvement to the service would be needed as well!

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

(30 Jan 2020, 10:08 am)Jimmi wrote Improvements need to be prioritized over the name more than owt else in my eyes, wouldn't look good immediately giving it a new name and still having the same issues although at the same time it's well known that Arriva has been stripped of the franchise so to some extents may as well ditch the name immediately to at least assume it's instantly a better service being provided.

Unsure if trains will continue to be refurbished or not which is annoying as some of the 158s going around are in a shocking state, seats battered to hell and well worn down, not a pleasant experience at all.

(05 Feb 2020, 6:03 am)GNE6312 wrote The main issue with Northern in the north east is the Durham coastal line which won't be fixed unless northern finds a way to make the Service more frequent on that line which can't be done with them sharing tracks between Sunderland and pelaw Junction. The only way I would see that working is some sort of agreement between Northern & Nexus to withdraw the metro on this section or make it less frequent on this section as well as Northern running extra carrridges.

(13 Feb 2020, 3:08 pm)GNE6312 wrote A case to keep the pacers?
https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/18227773.shock-figures-show-northern-rails-pacer-trains-reliable-new-fleet/

(13 Feb 2020, 3:18 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Is it any surprise though when you think how much there is to go wrong on just about anything modern!

(13 Feb 2020, 5:57 pm)Jimmi wrote Even discounting the technological aspects of new trains they still manage to pick up issues, had one of them last week and the cab door wouldn't securely shut and went to the toilet towards the end of my journey and had water drip down onto my head from the roof. For some bizarre reason the 195s when I've had them keep announcing that not all of the train doors can be opened as the platform is too short at certain stations, Halifax being one of them when it is not the case.

It's not just Northern that has had issues with their new stock either, virtually every new fleet introduced in the last two years has been plagued with faults. Like you say, same applies to pretty much anything these days.

(03 May 2020, 11:49 pm)Robin57 wrote Have just got new icrs combine book and have found that all the class 144’s are now at Heaton depot is this true or a mistake! Robin57

(04 May 2020, 2:10 am)markydh wrote It’s impossible to link to, these days, but Northern’s December timetable application is open for consultation. Major changes afoot in all of the North East. Essentially, longer distance links will be severed to assist with punctuality.

For example, Morpeth trains will start / terminate in Newcastle, so will no longer connect with the Metrocentre. Similarly, most Hexham terminators / starters will only go as far as Newcastle.

It’s not totally clear what’s happening with the Durham Coast services, but there is mention of a second hourly path. It looks like they will also terminate in Newcastle, severing the link to the Metrocentre.

It looks like they are, once again, applying for a path connecting Middlesbrough to Durham and onwards to Newcastle and Carlisle via Stillington Branch. This has been rejected in the last few timetable periods due to the difficulty creating a reliable hourly path from the branch to the ECML without adversely affecting other long distance services.