Criticism
Northern Rail operates just over 100 Pacer trains. These were built on a low budget during the 1980s recession and the upper body is based on a Leyland National bus. Many passengers are unhappy with the ride quality of these trains, noting that they provide an uncomfortable ride, are very noisy when going around bends, and are far too small for the number of passengers travelling today. One politician has even said they are not safe, but this was strongly denied by the company and the government. High fares in non-PTE areas adds to criticism about what some called life-expired trains being used.
Northern Rail has a tough approach on fare evasion and has been known to take passengers to court for underpaying by a matter of pence even where the company has no concrete proof. Northern Rail tried to prosecute one passenger who they claimed had tried to avoid paying part of his fare but the court case failed, costing Northern over £2,000 in legal fees. The court case was believed to have failed as Northern requires some passengers to carry special tickets saying which station they boarded at and tried to use that as evidence of attempting to combat fare evasion by not having passengers paying for shorter journeys they then make. However, any such requirement to force a passenger to produce a special ticket to prove where they boarded would be a breach of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, to which both passengers and rail operators must adhere.
Due to increased passenger numbers, Northern has installed new ticket machines at some stations. However, these do not sell the full range of tickets, for instance they do not sell Cheap Evening Returns, so that in the evening passengers can pay double the fare that they need to pay for the journey they are making, if they purchase tickets from the machine.
Passengers can reduce their ticket prices travelling from certain railway stations outside Greater Manchester (e.g. Prestbury & Adlington Cheshire) to any of the Manchester Central Zones stations, by splitting tickets at certain railway stations within Greater Manchester (e.g. Cheadle Hulme). This will also allow passengers free Metrolink tram travel in just the Manchester City Centre Zone (including the following tram stops: Piccadilly Station, Piccadilly Gardens, Mosley St, St. Peter's Square, Deansgate-Castlefield, Market Street, Shude Hill & Victoria).
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