Pacers could be perfect for freight
Few would argue that Pacers have had their day, with newer units appearing all the time. But they saved many a branch line - perhaps they could now take some freight off the roads?
What I’m envisaging is a rail version of the type of LGV/HGV lorry that delivers trolley-based goods, pallets and loose parcels to so many locations. Strip out the interiors, plate over the windows, replace the doors and add lowered ramp access, and you’ve got yourself a 75mph parcel/light freight vehicle running as two-, four- or six-car formations as demand requires. And with a cab at each end, there is no need for run rounds or a shunt locomotive.
They could be used as a regular point-to-point service, like the Royal Mail Class 325s using freight terminals/yards.
But it gets even more interesting if you use them into city centre stations or London termini to deliver goods and products, in a similar way to the Colas trial with ex-Motorail stock a few years back. A two-car unit takes up little space at the buffer stops, thus allowing for passenger services to use the same platform.
Perhaps one could be coupled to existing 75mph diesel multiple unit passenger services that operate on quieter rural lines (Far North, Cornwall, Mid-Wales for example), to serve communities where road access isn’t ideal?
Of course, dwell time would be affected, so it would only be practical to load/offload large cargos at origin/destination points in this case, but remember the oil tanks on the Fort William to Mallaig passenger service?
Perhaps, in this type of situation, passenger and freight companies could work in partnership? I can picture a Class 142 with UPS/Royal Mail/DHL/Amazon branding!