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Pacer (British Rail)

Pacer
A Class 142 and Class 143 at Exeter St Davids in 2011
In service1984–2021
Family namePacer
Constructed1979–1987
Scrapped2020–present
Number built165 sets
Number scrapped79 sets (141/142/143/144)
Formation71 sets (140/142/143/144)
Specifications
Coupling systemBSI
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

Pacer was the operational name of the British Rail Classes 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144 diesel multiple unit railbuses built between 1980 and 1987. They were inexpensively developed using a passenger body based on the Leyland National bus on top of a chassis based on the HSFV1 research vehicle. The railbuses were intended as a short-term solution to a shortage of rolling stock, with a lifespan of no more than twenty years. As modernised replacements were lacking, the Pacer fleet remained in service on some lines until 2021, 37 years after their 1984 introduction.[1]

All Pacer trains were scheduled to be retired by the end of 2019, as the PRM-TSI requires that all public passenger trains must be accessible to disabled people by 2020; however, the Pacer units were given dispensation until the end of 2020. Only one Pacer (the modernised 144e) met this requirement, and the remainder were, therefore, planned to be withdrawn by that date. Furthermore, a decision in 2015 by the Transport Secretary required that such railbuses be removed from service by 2020 for the then-new Northern franchise, stating that the "continued use of these uncomfortable and low-quality vehicles is not compatible with our vision for economic growth and prosperity in the north".[2]

At the start of 2020, 138 Pacer units of classes 142, 143 and 144 were either still in service or storage with three National Rail operators: Arriva Rail North, Great Western Railway and KeolisAmey Wales.[3] After the 144s were withdrawn from the Northern franchise, Northern Trains retired its last Pacer unit, a 142, on 27 November 2020,[4] with Great Western Railway retiring its last 143 the following month.[5] KeolisAmey Wales withdrew only its 142s in late 2020, passing its 143s to Transport for Wales Rail, who phased them out in May/June 2021.[6]

  1. ^ "Last departure for Welsh Pacers". Railnews. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. ^ Topham, Gwyn (27 February 2015). "New trains to replace north of England's ageing rolling stock by 2020". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Pacers to continue into 2020, operators confirm". Railway Gazette. DVV Media Group. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ^ Slater, Chris (27 November 2020). "Final call for hated pacer trains as last Northern 'truck on tracks' makes final journey". Manchester Evening News. Reach plc. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. ^ "2+3 HSTs help oust GWR Pacers". Modern Railways. January 2021. p. 103.
  6. ^ Williams, Rhys (4 June 2021). "Pacer trains taken off Valleys lines after 30 years". Caerphilly Observer. Retrieved 5 June 2021.

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