IN his Autumn Statement speech, the Chancellor George Osborne said that the Government was “replacing the ancient and unpopular Pacer carriages with new and modern trains.”

David Cameron had previously said that “those trains are going”. Pacer trains are in operation on Northern Rail’s slow Mid Cheshire line running from Chester to Manchester which serves Northwich. However, the Treasury’s Green Book, which was published after Osborne’s speech was finished, revealed that the Government would only encourage bidders to replace the Pacers and some Pacer trains may be refurbished instead of being replaced.

This is a particular issue for Northwich passengers who make 204,000 journeys each year on Northern Rail’s Mid Cheshire line. Northern Rail’s franchise is up for renewal and the solution to having no new rolling stock is to combine diesel and Pacer units to get round the fact that Pacers are not fully Disability Discrimination Act compliant.

All public transport will need to be fully accessible by 2019.

DDA compliance is made even worse at Northwich station by the fact that disabled passengers or parents with pushchairs are unable to fully access the footbridge to exit the station.

Passengers already endure some of the most overcrowded services in the country but George Osborne is offering no solution.

And this on top of a massive price hike on rail fares under the Tory-led coalition government. His pledge to get rid of the Pacers is in tatters.

For all his grand announcements, there is no guarantee that the trains will be replaced and ministers could leave Pacers running in the north for years to come.

Cllr Julia Tickridge Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Weaver Vale