[hstudent]

What was the reason behind merging what was set up as the North Western franchisee and the Northern Spirit franchisee?

I've seen no benefits looking at my local line and beyond.

Firstly with regards to rolling stock under First North Western the trains used on the Manchester to Chester via Altrincham line were mainly a mixture of 142s and refurbished 150s, with some services being run by 158s or 175s. It should be noted that the 142s used all had around 120 seats.

When Northern took over the trains used on the same line are mostly 142s. Some of the 142s that now appear on the line have only 102 seats. The few services not operated by 142s are usually either refurbished or non-refurbished 150s or occasionally a 156. It's actually quite funny seeing someone trying to use a laptop or sorting through papers on a 142 or a 150.

On trains between Blackpool and Manchester 2 car 150s are commonly used, despite commonly being overcrowded. Under First North Western there were more 3 car trains going to Blackpool than at present. (Although Transpennine Express now run some of the services with 3 car 185s, there is a First Class section which there wasn't on 3 car 150s and 175s) Also some of the 150s used on that line have not been refurbished.

Working toilet facilities are an issue which Northern need to address. Especially when trains without working toilet facilities are made to do journeys of around 3 hours and many stations which Northern Rail serve do not have toilet facilities at or near the station.

Northern Rail's decision to move trains between the north west and Yorkshire meant that destination displays couldn't display the correct name of the station the train was heading for. At one stage practically every former Arriva Trains Northern train going south or west from Manchester said 'Adwick' on the front, which could easily get confused with Ardwick near Manchester.

Northern Rail have reportedly got 30 158s to replace 24 142s yet 158s never appear at Manchester Piccadilly station and 142s seem the most common train on the Manchester to Sheffield and Manchester Oxford Rd to Liverpool services as well as the Chester service. Although slightly more former Arriva Trains Northern 156s seem to be about in the north west, so perhaps Northern decided that the 30 158s should all go to run services in the Yorkshire region.

One final point is that the former First North Western 156s seem in good condition with the exception being the carpets on virtually every train of that type are badly worn especially around the table areas.