Northern Trains Ltd

[knutstransport]

RE: Northern Trains Ltd
For some reason it's been decided drivers are no longer able to take 4 car Sprinters on the Mid-Cheshire line between Altrincham and Chester, unless the rear carriage is locked out-of-use. All the platforms are long enough to take 4 car 150s but there were issues if 4 car 156s were used at some stations. It means that on weekdays 1 in 4 services is operated by a 4 car train with 1 carriage locked out-of-use and 3 in 4 are operated by 2 car trains. Logic dictates one of the following should happen:
1. 'The issues' are resolved. They started last year and are still ongoing.
2. 3 car 158s or 195s are used instead of 4 car 150s/156s.
3. Sprinters are reformed to create 3 car sets, allowing another diagram to get an additional carriage.
4. Some 153s are cascaded in, to be permanently attached to 150/2s.

Both Northern and Network Rail seem good at coming up with excuses for running down the Mid-Cheshire line. We had excuses about no service enhancements being possible until farm level crossings were upgraded. That's happened now but there's still no service enhancements and capacity is being reduced on existing services.