News

ANGEL TRAINS LEASES 30 CLASS 158 DIESEL MULTIPLE UNITS TO NORTHERN RAIL

13th March 2007

Angel Trains and Northern Rail, in cooperation with the DfT, have today entered into a long term leasing agreement for 30 Class 158 DMUs.  These trains supplement the six Class 158s, which were leased to Northern Rail by Angel Trains in 2006.  
 
This multi-operator cascade takes in units which had come off lease from at least four other train operators and will facilitate some of the extra capacity required by Northern Rail, a Serco- NedRailways joint venture.  The trains will be used to support growth on the Northern Rail franchise.  
Six of the units have been acquired in partnership with Merseytravel enabling strengthening of City Line services.  In addition to supporting franchise growth a number of Class 142 Pacer units will be cascaded into storage.   
 
Heidi Mottram, Managing Director, Northern Rail, said:   
 
“This is a fantastic result for our passengers.  It will strengthen our services and bring a range of benefits including a step change in ride quality and train environment.
 
“I am delighted at the outcome of this deal, which validates the customer-focused and partnership driven approach that Serco-NedRailways have brought to the Northern Rail franchise.
 
“Since taking over the franchise in 2004, we have been committed to working in partnership with all our stakeholders to seek new ways of improving the network and providing additional capacity where it is most needed.  Passenger journeys are now up to over 15 million annually, which is a 19 per cent increase since the start of the franchise.  This latest initiative will help ease crowding on some of our busiest services.”
 
Haydn Abbott, Managing Director, Angel Trains added:  
 
“This cascade has achieved a real answer to capacity issues and helps address the 19% passenger growth experienced since Northern Rail’s franchise began in 2004.   We are delighted to be able to improve the quality and reliability of train rolling stock, ffering greater benefits to passengers”.
 
Delivery of the 30 Class 158 DMUs will begin immediately with Northern Rail introducing them as soon as possible.