New trains calling at town on airport route
introduction of the first nine on the network at the start of July, the rest will be introduced at monthly intervals through 2019 and into 2020, with more routes given them over time.
Representatives from Northern, the Liverpool City Region and Transport For The North met at Liverpool Lime Street station on Tuesday, August 13, to wave off one of the 15 new trains now in service on the Northern network.
Northern’s deputy managing director, Richard Allan, said: “The Northern network is busier than it has been for a generation – more than 100 million customer journeys will be made on Northern services in 2019 – and the introduction of new trains is at the heart of our transformation for customers.
“We are delighted therefore that customers travelling between Liverpool and Manchester Airport will now be served by brand new trains every hour.
“These fantastic new trains are a true stepchange in travelling experience and we are extremely proud to be delivering a £500m investment.
“We now have 15 brand new trains carrying customers, with 86 more to come throughout 2019 and into 2020.” The new trains have been funded by Eversholt Rail Group and are built in Spain and in Wales by train manufacturer CAF.
Cllr Liam Robinson, chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority transport committee and portfolio holder for transport, said: “It’s great to see the introduction of these brand new trains which will improve the travelling experience for rail users travelling to and from the Liverpool city region.
“This is just the start of the improvements that we want to see for our rail £488 £688 networks and demonstrates that by working together with our partners we can deliver a world class rail network for the north that improves passenger’s journeys with better times, frequency and capacity.”
Northern’s new trains ● are part of the largest modernisation programme in a generation in the North.
It is currently fully refurbishing its fleet of 243 trains, improving stations and has introduced more than 2,000 extra services every week since 2016.