Arriva confirms Northern rolling stock plans [International Railway Journal]
Date: 11/12/2015
ARRIVA has confirmed further details of its plans for new rolling stock for the Northern franchise following its selection as preferred bidder for the contract on December 9. Around £400m will be invested in 98 new 160km/h multiple units (281 vehicles) comprising 43 EMUs (three and four-car) and 55 DMUs (two and three-car), which will enable the withdrawal of the fleet of class 142 and 144 Pacer railbuses by 2019. Tendering for the new trains is underway and Arriva says it expects to sign a contract by April. The new EMUs will be deployed on Northern Connect services from Blackpool, Windermere and Preston to Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport, Crewe, and Stoke-on-Trent. They will also be used on Manchester - Glossop/Hadfield services, which are currently operated by class 323 EMUs, and supplement the existing fleet of class 333 EMUs on services from Leeds to Ilkley, Skipton, and Doncaster. [From Richard Buckby]
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