The end of the Pacer train

Pacer train at Rochdale station

The Prime Minister has finally committed to replacing the decrepit pacer trains in the North of England. 

Support The Oldham Rochdale Manchester lines (STORM) say on the face of it this is very good news, so many groups including STORM have been pressing for it for years.

Pacers are supposed to be withdrawn anyway by 2020 when the full disability requirements take effect. However, there is a lack of information about how and when they will be replaced. To buy new diesels for delivery by 2019 would be difficult if not impossible and cascaded diesels from electrification projects will probably not be available in time either, given the current delays to projects.

Any cascaded stock will be better than Pacers but still very different to the fleets of brand new trains for rail users in the south.

If fares are increased by enough to pay for them they would have to rise by three or four times.

A spokesman for STORM said: "Fares are already far too high, is this yet another example of pricing off excess demand to avoid paying for capacity increases? Let's see what emerges from the Northern re-franchising, and what the scene is after next May."