Yes, but shouldn't at least five of the eight be in traffic every weekday with one more as spare ?
Question - how long after the first 769 was trialled between Crewe and Carnforth did a 769 venture out to Southport. This is particularly because the 769s were specifically ordered for Southport IIRC ?
At least the GWR units at Reading have visited all of their former SR routes, even if they might possibly not yet have visited their new Thames valley haunts. Almost like the TfW, ~Northern and GWR class 769s are run by three different TOCs - ooohhh they are !!!l
No, the Northern 769s were not originally ordered for the Southport line.
The original 2016 Arriva Rail North rolling stock plan included 319s to work electric services from both Alderley Edge and Stalybridge to Wigan North Western via Bolton, starting December 2017, per the Northern franchise agreement. These services required 6 diagrams in total, interworked at Wigan.
When electrification of Lostock - Wigan and Victoria - Stalybridge was paused, Arriva and the DfT agreed that 8 of Northern's 319s should be converted to 769s, to work all the Wigan NW via Bolton services. This allowed for 6 units in service with 2 on exams. However, the delays to the 769 programme forced Northern to find DMUs to work these services when they eventually started.
Subsequently, political pressure from Southport users forced Northern to extend both the Alderley Edge and Stalybridge services from Wigan to Southport in 2019, with the previous services from Leeds and Blackburn to Southport via Atherton cut back to Wigan. The extensions required three more diagrams, making a total of nine, five Alderley Edge and four Stalybridge.
This history explains why the Northern 769 fleet is not large enough to work all the southport services. Three of the four Southport - Stalybridge diagrams still have to be worked by DMUs, even with the full turnout of six 769s.
However, the Manchester Recovery Taskforce is proposing (see
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...able-consultation.213089/page-44#post-5221019) to split the Southport - Alderley Edge route at Manchester from December 2022, with separate Southport - Oxford Road and Piccadilly - Alderley Edge services, the latter being worked by EMUs. I guess it might then be possible for six 769 diagrams to cover all the Southport services, with shorter turnarounds and interworking at Southport.