Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average number of carriages has been on Northern Rail services operating on the Clitheroe–Manchester line during each of the last 18 months; and how many short-formed services have operated on that line in each of the last 18 months where fewer carriages were provided than originally scheduled.

Between 16 September 2024 and 16 March 2026, 35.5 per cent of Northern services on the Clitheroe-Manchester line had two carriages, while 64.5 per cent had four carriages.

In the same period, Northern ran 16,149 services, of which 3,430 (21.2 per cent) had fewer carriages than planned.

While most train services between Clitheroe and central Manchester are scheduled to be operated by four-carriage trains, unfortunately there may be occasions when this is not possible due to more trains than usual requiring repair, in large part due to the age of the rolling stock.

To address this, Northern has begun discussions with train manufacturers to procure around 250 new train sets to replace the oldest trains in its fleet. Approximately two-thirds of its existing fleet is targeted to be replaced in the next ten years. The initial order, which is due to enter service in 2030-31, will consist of 130 units: 92 diesel-hybrids to replace its Class 15Xs (of the kind that serve Clitheroe and Blackburn), 30 electric and diesel-hybrid trains to support the TransPennine Route Upgrade and 8 battery-powered trains to test their potential as an alternative to diesel-hybrids.

In the meantime, Northern is talking to other operators to identify any suitable rolling stock that could be cascaded to provide additional capacity or replace trains that have reached the end of their lives. Where any such additional stock is used is an operational matter for Northern, based on the demands on its services and the capacity of its depots and staff.