Northern Franchise
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A Northern Class 158 at Manchester Victoria Station
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Northern 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2025 |
| Main Region(s) |
North West North East Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Other Region(s) |
East Midlands Staffordshire |
| Fleet size | 339 units (Four units leased from TransPennine Express) |
| Stations called at | 528 |
| Stations operated | 476 |
| Parent company | Arriva UK Trains |
| Website | www.northernrailway.co.uk |
Northern, the trading name of Arriva Rail North, is the primary train operator in Northern England. A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, it began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and has inherited units from Northern Rail.
Northern operates more stations than any other train operating company in the United Kingdom.
In August 2014, the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, Arriva and Govia had been shortlisted to bid for the next Northern franchise. The franchise was awarded to Arriva in December 2015.
In May 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority launched what The Times called an "... unprecedented investigation into the transport department's decision to award the Northern Rail network to Arriva". This was because the parent company Deutsche Bahn also operated the CrossCountry franchise and owned many bus companies in the Northern trains operating area in which 'a significant overlap occurs without competition from other service providers.'
Northern took over all the services operated by Northern Rail (also branded Northern) on 1 April 2016 and on the same date, services between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North, Manchester Airport and Barrow in Furness and Oxenholme to Windermere from First TransPennine Express.
Northern took over responsibility for all the stations managed by Northern Rail, as well as Arnside, Barrow-in-Furness, Birchwood, Burneside, Carnforth, Grange-over-Sands, Kendal, Staveley, Ulverston, Warrington Central and Windermere from First TransPennine Express. Northern will staff some currently unstaffed stations. The first stations to be staffed will be Baildon and Ben Rhydding, both in West Yorkshire.
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