Pacer trains to be turned into village halls and community cafes under new government plans

A 142 Pacer diesel train at Doncaster station, Yorkshire. (PA)

They are the much-derided 30-year-old trains that have become a symbol of all that is wrong with the UK’s embattled railway network.

But it seems Pacers – politely called “workhorses” by rail bosses; known as “buses on rails” by everyone else – may be given a new lease of life after they are finally retired from the country’s lines this summer.

Government proposals suggest carriages – literally reconfigured bus chassis – could now be transformed into village halls and community eateries.

Officials with the Department for Transport have launched a campaign asking for ideas on how best to reuse the 100-strong fleet, saying that “community spaces, cafes or new village halls” were the sort of proposals they had in mind.

Launching the scheme, rail minister Andrew Jones said: “Through this competition we can ensure that the Pacer can be transformed to serve a community near where it carried passengers in an entirely different way.

“What we need now are creative and exciting proposals from the public, alongside ideas from businesses keen to support this competition, as we say goodbye to Pacers on our railway.”

Jake Berry, minister for the northern powerhouse, added: “Replacing Pacers with a brand new fleet of trains is not just great news for passengers, it now provides this exciting opportunity for our grassroots community groups across the north to bring people together through this competition.

“I travelled to school on a Pacer train and I look forward to getting on board again to see how these old carriages will continue to provide a valuable service for many years to come.”

But the idea was given short shrift by MPs whose constituents have long complained about the trains.

Jonathan Reynolds, Labour member for Stalybridge and Hyde, told the Manchester Evening News: “I am not sure my constituents will agree that this is an ‘exciting opportunity’, unless one of them is turned into a museum dedicated to highlighting years of under-investment in northern transport.

“My personal suggestion would be to invite my fed up constituents to dismantle them piece by piece, a bit like when the Berlin Wall came down.”

Pacer trains are operated primarily by Northern Rail and Arriva Trains Wales, and are often deployed on busy commuter routes into cities including Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Lincoln and York, as well as on the Merseyrail network.

The fleet is to be phased out by the end of the year and replaced with 101 new trains worth £500m.