People are so used to being on the “Cinderella Line” that if you tell them brand new trains are coming they tend not to believe it. But Northern’s promise when Arriva secured the franchise (late 2015) was new stock for Calder Valley services via Bradford to Manchester and on to the Airport, Chester and Liverpool, plus the established York-Blackpool service. All these services would be branded “Northern Connect”, the franchise’s new regional express product, by December 2019. We sincerely hope all of this happens though our priority (and we believe Northern’s) is a service that works for existing users. It seems new kit can not be expected to work out of the box. The new “Class 195” diesels from Spain are being tested and de-snagged as we write but fingers crossed we might see some of them on CVL trains to Manchester and Chester before the summer solstice. Meanwhile we already have the Leeds-Brighouse-Manchesters going through to Southport. This service was promised modern “Class 170s” from Scotland. The 170s are already familiar on the Harrogate line and are good trains to travel on, a step up from the Class 158s and a giant leap from the crummy “150s” that still make our line look like a 1980s throwback. But apparently there was a “gauging problem” meaning the 170s don’t quite fit on the Calder Valley Line. Though we also hear that work has been done to make sure TransPennine Express new trains do fit. Latest we hear is the 170s will be used (instead) on Hull-Sheffield Northern Connect services. So either the Calder Valley line will see even more of the new trains (come on, let’s be optimistic), or else have to soldier on with 1980s “sprinter” and “express” stock for some time. Oh, and by the way, the hated Pacers, still very much around, really will be going, but the longer it takes to commission the new trains, the longer the old will stay in service.
Which is, perhaps, stating the obvious.
Header Image: “Northern Scotty” flickr photo by JohnGreyTurner https://flickr.com/photos/johngreyturner/45494410864 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license
Halifax and District Rail Action Group 