Porterbrook to modify Pacer

By Richard Clinnick
|
7 November 2014
News

Porterbrook is spending close to £1 million modifying a Pacer train relating to PRM-TSI (Passengers of Reduced Mobility - Technical Specification for Interoperability) compliance.

Paul Francis, managing director of the rolling stock leasing company, told Transport Select Committee MPS on October 27: “We are doing a Pacer vehicle in Derby, with RVEL .

“We are going to put £800,000 into a Pacer vehicle. Notwithstanding everybody’s dissatisfaction, we want to show stakeholders - whether they are people from Northern, people from DFT or politicians, whoever wants to come and see it - what you can genuinely do with that Pacer vehicle to modify it.

“That will form the backstop if the surplus of diesel rolling stock does not materialise and you have to continue to operate Pacer vehicles. We have taken that decision quite independently. We have just decided to invest that money.”

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Author: Richard Clinnick

Head of News (Print and Digital)

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Our Head of News, Richard joined RAIL in 2005 from local press, where he had been working since 2002. He covers all aspects of news for the magazine and website, specialising in operations and rolling stock.

Comments (6)

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Comments

Robert Smith - 10/11/2014 13:55

Basically, show what's still possible with pacers, make sure it looks good and just do it Porterbrook!
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- J Marsden - 10/11/2014 14:41
  
  Obviously you live in the South East with a very modern fleet. Come to the north in peak hour when it is raining and the only place to stand is in the corridor connection and it is drier to sit on the roof (though not permitted). This is a total waste of money and Porterbrook have made enough out of these trains to finance new trains so get the order in to Derby and start building
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Pacer man - 10/11/2014 14:20

No one wants your pacers. It is clear you make a killing on leasing them hence your determination to try and keep them in the market. Try putting some more wheels on it so that you don't feel see sick when you get to work, increasing the trains capacity, getting rid of the bus doors that allow a gale to blow through them, stopping the windows and in some cases roof from leaking, stopping them from making that horrific squealing noise that only they seem to make, stopping the bone shattering vibration, reducing the noise of the engine so that your ears are not ringing when you get to work and increasing and putting some more doors on them so you can actually get off at your destination.
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Sean Worrall - 11/11/2014 18:16

There's clearly no way any current DMU's are going to be retired until such time as there are spare trains, which even with cascades via Electrification, there won;t be any time soon. As poster/s have said, the current Pacer routes are often overcrowded, but I guess the next step on those routes is as likely to be more carriages but still Pacers, rather than different stock. I live in the south east, but tomorrow I'll be on a 34 year old train. which if I travel later would be so full you physically can't get on, even with 8 cars and one running every 5-10 minutes. Not all cakes and ale down here :)
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Phil Davies - 11/11/2014 23:24

Personally travelling them day in day out its about time the north got something new altogether insert of down south it's always the south the pacers are outdated Northern Rail 172s would be nice to see its unfair as an northerner to see the south get everything new even with Mods it still won't make a different to people like me who have to travel from A To B
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Steven Beesley - 12/11/2014 09:14

The only modification that could be done to improve a Pacer would be to scrap it!
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norman Fowles - 18/11/2014 15:16

Give them to preserved railway societies.
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