I never said it wasn’t a very good option. I’m just stating it could be disastrous in the eyes of the public. I completely agree with what you’ve said.
1) Whether TfW Rail shout about introducing more Pacers as short term relief throughout 2019 or not, the general public will not notice the difference between a former ATW Pacer or a former Northern 144. They just want a seat on a train to be able to make a journey
2) What's more 'disastorous' in the eyes of the public? Making a journey from Pontypridd to Cardiff on a 144, or not being able to make the journey at all due to severe overcrowding?
Both Ministers and TfW themselves are telling everyone whole listen that the pacers will be gone by Dec 2019.
If the first noticeable improvement post ATW is the (temporary) addition of more pacers to the fleet it’ll be a PR disaster.
More of a PR disaster than the constant daily stream of twitter photos and complaints from angry passengers of being 'dangerously' (as they put it) squeezed on to trains, or being left behind at stations from not being able to board at all?
Things couldn't get any worse for TfW Rail at the moment. If more 144s are introduced for 11 months or so as temporary relief whilst waiting for PRM mods to be done and for the 769s/170s/Mk4s to arrive hopefully by late next year, and if TfW introduce the 144s without shouting about it so only enthusiasts notice, it will be far from a PR disaster.