Northern Rail to lose franchise from 1st March

Rail operator Northern is to lose its franchise to operate trains in Northern England from the 1^st March 2020.

From the 1^st March onwards, train services will be renationalised and run by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Operator of Last Resort (OLR).

The announcement comes following regular delays and cancellations on its services in recent years by Northern Rail and its operator, Arriva Trains North, and there have been numerous calls from Northern politicians and passenger groups to terminate Northern Rail’s franchise, which was not due to end until 2025. 

Earlier this year, the Transport Secretary had also raised questions about Northern Rail’s finances to continue operating into the second half of 2020. Northern Rail however have blamed their poor performance on external factors, such as delays in delivery of new trains from suppliers, industrial action and engineering works by Network Rail.

The decision to renationalise was one of two possible options to the Transport Secretary, the other being that Northern would continue to operate but under increased supervision by the DfT.

The DfT’s Operator of Last Resort also the East Coast franchise, taking over from Virgin Trains in 2015 after the company went into financial difficulties, and will continue to run the service until 2025 as a result of its increased passenger satisfaction levels. It has not been announced how long the Northern franchise, which covers services in the North West, Yorkshire and North East England, would remain in state hands.

In the short term, in their announcement, the Operator of Last Resort intends to prioritise “a smooth transition, stabilise performance and restore reliability for customers.”

In a written statement to Parliament, Grant Shapps outlined that the OLR will use its first 100 days to prepare a plan to improve Northern’s service for rail passengers, and also recognised the need to upgrades to rail infrastructure across the North of England.

Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region’s mayors, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, have been highly critical of Northern Rail’s performance in recent years and previously called for its renationalisation. In joint statement, they said:

Today’s news is a victory for passengers who have had to endure almost two years of misery and mayhem on Northern Rail.

“We are pleased the government has finally answered our call and returned the Northern franchise to public ownership.  But today’s welcome move by ministers is only the start of fixing the North’s railways.

“The Government must now commit to investing in much-needed rail infrastructure and work with leaders across the North to deliver the vision and funding needed to build the modern transport network that the people of our region deserve.”

Tickets can still be purchased through Northern Rail’s website and from other providers, and there will be no changes to the validity of advance or season tickets.  Employees of Arriva Rail North will be transferred to the new operator under TUPE regulations.

Image: Department of Transport