Northern Rail adds 50 more carriages to commuter trains

Fifty more carriages are being put on some of the busiest Northern Rail routes providing more than one million extra seats a year, the company says.

The second-hand stock will see more capacity on trains serving five key urban centres: Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Nothern Rail said this should ease overcrowding on commuter routes.

The company added that it expected an increase of more than one million passengers annually.

Among the peak-time commuter routes receiving extra capacity are: Marple to Manchester, more than 1,200 extra seats; Leeds to Manchester, 1,100 extra seats; Clitheroe to Manchester, 350 seats; and Liverpool to Manchester, 300.

"The additional trains have been planned to serve the most crowded train services as a first priority," said the company.

"We have been able to analyse customer demand by using our automated on-train counting equipment."