THE first batch of the widely-criticised Pacer trains have finally been removed from service.

Passengers have endured the hated vehicles since the 1980s when they were created out of bus parts to provide a temporary solution to a shortage of carriages.

Now, rail firm Northern has revealed that the first three Pacers have officially been taken off the tracks for good.

The company had a fleet of 102 of the vehicles and the first one was retired in August this year but has been in storage at the Heaton train depot since.

Northern initially promised to have the Pacers out of service by the end of this year but was unable to hit this target due to a delay in the introduction of its new fleet.

Passengers should expect to see an increase in the number of new trains on the tracks now after the company ironed out some of its problems.

David Brown, Northern’s Managing Director, said: “Whilst pacers have served the north well, we know that they are old, outdated and not popular with our customers. For these reasons, when we won the right to being operating the franchise in 2016, we developed plans to remove them all from service."

Most rail firms rent their trains from large companies which own huge fleets and Northern's three Pacers have been returned to owner Angel Trains, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks.