Additional carriages welcomed

Ian Bevan, Managing Director of Northern Rail and Councillor Andrew Fender, Chairman of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, welcoming the 07.13 Leeds to Manchester Victoria service, arriving in at 08.53 with 111 additional seats

Northern Rail passengers are set to benefit from more seats on peak time trains as 50 additional carriages have been added across the network.

Locally, this means that the 07.13am Leeds to Manchester Victoria service, arriving at 08.53am, will have 111 additional seats.

The carriages are the result of the Department for Transport’s rolling stock programme, which has secured a total of 60 additional carriages for Northern, meaning more seats on 20 per cent of the rail operator’s major urban centre peak time trains - benefitting Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle.

Ian Bevan, Managing Director of Northern Rail, said: “Overcrowding has been one of the biggest challenges we have faced and one of the biggest causes of complaint for our passengers.

“Thanks to the additional carriages we will be providing 2.2million extra seats per year during the peak hours.

“We know that these extra carriages will not eradicate overcrowding, but will certainly provide significantly improved journeys for our customers from their introduction this morning.”

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chairman of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, added: “This rolling stock will certainly help to ease overcrowding on some key services, which is good news for commuters. TfGM has worked closely with Government and Northern Rail to secure this extra capacity, and our local MPs have also played an important role."