Northern Rail
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s): |
Northern 12 December 2004 – 31 March 2016 |
| Main Region(s): |
North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Other Region(s): | East Midlands and Staffordshire |
| Fleet size: | 333 |
| Stations called at: | 526 |
| Stations operated: | 464 |
| Route km operated: | 2,695.7 |
| National Rail abbreviation: | NT |
| Parent company: | Serco-Abellio |
| Website: | www.northernrail.org |
Northern Rail (also known as Northern) was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio. It was the primary train operator in Northern England, and operated the most stations of any train operating company in the UK. Northern Rail also operated the Northern Electrics sub-brand on electrified services in North West England using class 319 units from Thameslink. Northern Rail (Northern) was replaced on 1 April 2016 by Arriva Rail North's Northern brand.
In 2000 the Strategic Rail Authority announced that it planned to reorganise the North West Regional Railways and Regional Railways North East franchises operated by First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern. A TransPennine Express franchise would be created for the long-distance regional services, with the remaining services to be operated by a new Northern franchise.
On 1 July 2004 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the franchise to Serco-NedRailways, beating FirstGroup. The franchise was awarded for six years and nine months, with a two-year extension subject to performance targets being achieved.
Serco-NedRailways' bid had assumed that some Class 142 Pacer trains would be released imminently when Manchester Metrolink services started between Manchester and Oldham. Due to a substantial delay in extending the Metrolink, it became clear that this was not going to be the case. As a result, the contract signing was delayed, and the services operated by First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern did not transfer to Northern until 12 December 2004.
In May 2010 the Department for Transport confirmed that Northern had met the performance targets, and the franchise was extended for two years until September 2013. In May 2012 the Department for Transport granted Northern a six-month extension until 31 March 2014. In March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would be further extended to February 2016.
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