Thanks David. It makes a change for me to understand something first time
Initially I would have suggested that ATW keep hold of some 158's and make them into 3-car units like the Transpennine (or is it Central) ones that have 3 driving vehicles coupled together. They could then use them to overcome some of the overcrowding they have on certain routes in the peak period (e.g. Manchester - North Wales). I know they are cramped but ANY seat is better than NO seat. Having said that the 3-car 175's they will get from Transpennine will probably serve the same purpose so we are back to deciding where to put the 158's. Within ATW the only other use I can see for them is some sort of cascade exercise to allow the ATW 150's to replace the grossly underpowered 153's on the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch and Bidston lines. Outside of ATW but on a similar note there is also the possibility that they could be used by Northern Trains to get rid of some of the unpopular 142's once again by allowing 150's to be cascaded.
It will be interesting to see what actually happens
