Hopefully it will be featured upon the local TV news, before many have set off to work.
Not for me sadly, I'll be arriving at the office. And worse still our firewall at work doesn't handle the threads on this site very well, meaning that only the first post on each page displays.
Luckily however my mobile handles it fine, so I may have a pressing issue to deal with for a while in the comms room where all the network kit is, and no-one else has access to.....
jcollins said:
I've heard that it won't specifically mention Pacers but will say about moving towards a fleet of properly bogied trains so not ruling out taking on the Porterbrook 'accessible' Pacers and keeping them in service for the duration of the next franchise.
Also that the next TPE franchise will deliver Intercity trains (with bi-mode options) by December 2018 but North TPE electrification will be postponed to allow GW electrification to be completed on time.
Patrick McLoughlin said in response to a parliamentary question that Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes will remain a through route. Some people are saying Liverpool to Norwich won't get transferred to TPE.
Not heard any rumours regarding where the proposed Northern Hub frequency enhancements will go ahead. They included more services on the Buxton line, Mid-Cheshire line, Manchester Airport line, Chester-Warrington-Manchester line and Hope Valley line among others.
Rumour today is that the option of Northern taking on all the 319s plus the 350/4s is being looked at. Although, that certainly won't be confirmed or squashed by the wording of the Northern ITT.
It sounds like a bit of good and bad news for the North TP route then, new possibly bi-mode Intercity stock, but no sparks for a few more years. That's going to have mean a rethink on what services run along it post 2018 and before the wires go up.
And the mention of moving towards a fleet of bogied trains for Northern sounds more like a cascade of stock, or the D-stock conversions. It will be interesting to see just what detail comes out today, and what's left hanging for further speculation.
