Bidders for the Northern franchise that commenced in April 2016 were required to order new DMUs and take on "Sprinters" and "Turbostars" (Classes 150, 156, 158 and 170) released by other franchises as replacement. The Long Term Passenger Rolling Stock Strategy for the Rail Industry indicates up to 500 non-electric carriages will need to be built in the short term. Northern withdrawals were scheduled to commence in November 2018 with the last to be removed from traffic in October 2019. This has been slightly delayed until the first enter service.