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Northern Trains

This article is about the current operator of the Northern franchise. For the previous operator of the Northern franchise, see Arriva Rail North.

Northern
A Northern Class 331 in November 2023 at Stoke-on-Trent
Overview
Franchise(s)Northern
Main region(s)
Other region(s)
Fleet368[4]
Stations called at474[5]
Parent companyDfT Operator
HeadquartersYork[3]
Reporting markNT[1]
Dates of operation1 March 2020 (2020-03-01) – 1 March 2025 (2025-03-01)[2]
PredecessorArriva Rail North
Other
Websitewww.northernrailway.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata
Route map

Northern Trains,[6] trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates commuter and medium-distance intercity services in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail North had its franchise terminated at the end of February 2020.

The company commenced operating the Northern franchise on 1 March 2020, taking over from Arriva Rail North. The prior operator had its franchise terminated early by the DfT in January 2020 amid widespread dissatisfaction over its performance, particularly in respect of poorly implemented timetable changes. The DfT had opted to hand the operation of the franchise over to the operator of last resort. At the commencement of operations, Northern publicly stated that its immediate aims were to improve service reliability and to proceed with the introduction of new rolling stock. For the latter, both the Class 195 diesel multiple units and Class 331 electric multiple units were brought into service fully during December 2020.

Services have been disrupted by wider events, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. Northern was also affected by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, the largest national rail strikes in the UK in three decades. Although strikes stopped in 2024, the franchise has been affected by rest day working restrictions that have continued to regularly affect Sunday services into 2025.[7]

Following the successful introduction of the new-build Class 195 and 331 fleets in 2020 totalling 290 new carriages, the franchise stated an intent to train manufacturers to replace the ageing Sprinter class trains in 2023. The tender process was formalised in January 2025, with an award due in 2026 and first trains expected into service in 2030. Entailing up to 450 carriages, the programme would involve full fleet modernisation, streamlined fleets to reduce both training and maintenance requirements and reduced carbon emissions.[8]

  1. ^ "National Rail Enquiries - Northern". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2022contract was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "About Northern". www.northernrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Clifton, Paul (19 April 2023). "What customers want has changed". Rail Magazine. No. 981. pp. 24–27.
  6. ^ "Northern Trains Limited". Companies House. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Passengers in the North West told to 'Check Before You Travel' on Sundays AND over the Christmas period". Northern Trains. 29 November 2024. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  8. ^ ""Game-changing for the North" - Northern sets its sights on up to 450 new trains". 17 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
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