New franchises herald new era for North’s rail passengers
A£1.2bn programme of investment in train services across the North of England and a move towards greater local control have been marked as the new Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises commence.
Representatives from Rail North and the two train operating companies, Arriva Rail North Ltd and First Group,were joined by Andrew Jones MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station to mark a new era for rail passengers across the North.
Under a ground-breaking devolution agreement, the two new franchises will be managed by the Department for Transport and Rail North Ltd, which brings together representatives from 29 local transport authorities from across the region, through the Rail North Partnership.
New Northern operator Arriva Rail North Ltd and TransPennine Express owner First Group will provide the much-needed brand new, state-of-the-art trains - which will cost more than £800m - with the addition of more than 500 new carriages. In doing so, Northern will remove the out-dated and unpopular Pacer trains by 2019 and by the same year, the entire TransPennine fleet will be brought up to Intercity standards.
The ambitious plans will create capacity for more than 40,000 extra passengersat the busiest times of the day, as well as addinga much needed increase in service frequency at off-peak times. The franchise agreements will also improve the facilities at over 400 stations across the North.
Sir Richard Leese, Chair of the Association of Rail North Partner Authorities, said:
"Today marks the start of better rail services for the North and of much greater local control over the development of these services.
“Passengers and businesses told us that they wanted less crowded trains, faster and more frequent services that start earlier and finish later, and more opportunities to travel on Sundays.
“The new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises will exceed these requirements. The unpopular Pacer railbuses will be consigned to the scrapheap by October 2019 and more than 500 brand new carriages will be brought into service together with a substantial investment in station improvements and a real focus on involving local communities in the railway.
“These new franchises tangibly demonstrate the real benefit of devolution of power to the North. Rail North Limited played a key role in specifying tender requirements and evaluating bids leading to the award of the franchises. They will now be responsible through the Rail North / DfT Partnership team for the management and development of services from their office in Leeds.
“Rail North Limited will continue to work very closely with Transport for the North to drive forward economic growth, by developing visionary proposals to deliver radically improved connectivity across the North."
Leo Goodwin, Managing Director of TransPennine Express, said:
“We are excited to begin this new rail franchise and work alongside Rail North to oversee a £500 million investment in our rail services in the North and Scotland.
“Over the next four years the TransPennine Express franchise will re-imagine the customer experience at every stage of our service and help bring the towns and cities of the North closer together. “
Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern, said:
“Today is the day we begin to deliver our plans for the exciting next phase of Northern and each and every one of the team is focussed and determined to deliver for customers.
“Investment is exactly what customers wanted and we are looking forward to achieving major improvements before the end of the decade.”
ENDS
For more information on Rail North please contact Gary Taylor (, 0777 941 5943).
For more information on First TransPennine Express please contact Sarah Ford (,07720 308169).
For more information on Arrive Rail North please contact Joselyn Rankin (, 07795 008693)
Notes to Editors:
Following a ground-breaking devolution agreement which was signed by the Secretary of State for Transport and Rail North Ltd last year, the Northern and TransPennine Express Franchise Agreements will be managed in partnership byRail North and the Department for Transport.
Rail North Limited brings together 29 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) from across the North of England into one cohesive and proactive body, which represents the regional and local economic, transport and strategic objectives for the rail industry.
About the Northern franchise
Arriva Rail North Limited will run the Northern franchise – which is the second largest in theUKand operates regional and commuter services across the region – from April 2016 until March 2025. The operator will oversee the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019, and will invest £400 million in 281 brand-new air-conditioned carriages (equivalent to 98 trains) – more than double the minimum required in the Invitation to Tender.
Other improvements on the Northern network by December 2019 include:
- more than 2,000 extra services each week, with around 400 additional Sunday services, including new direct journeys from Bradford to Wakefield, Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool and Hull; from Leeds to Chester and Bridlington; from Lincoln to Leeds; and from Manchester Airport to Warrington, Bradford and Halifax
- nearly a 40% increase in capacity – creating space for 31,000 extra passengers travelling into the 5 major commuter cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle) of the north during the morning rush-hour
- a new high-quality ‘Northern Connect’ service, meaning new or refurbished trains on longer-distance services, faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi at each one – as well as serving the 5 major commuter cities, this network will also serve other destinations including Bradford, Halifax, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Lincoln, Worksop and Retford
- improved ticketing, including mobile and print-at-home tickets, and discounted fares for jobseekers
About the TransPennine Express Franchise
First Trans Pennine Express Limited will operate services on the TransPennine Express franchise – which runs intercity services across the region and into Scotland – from April 2016 until March 2023. They will bring in 220 new carriages, equivalent to 44 trains and worth more than £400 million, providing fast, 125mphservices across the network, as well as:
- introducing new and additional services for Scotland, including a new, direct Liverpool to Glasgow service from December 2018 with new electric trains and extending existing services beyond Newcastle to Edinburgh from December 2019, and bringing in additional services from Manchester to Glasgow and Edinburgh from December 2017
- doubling the number of Manchester to Newcastle services and running more daily services to Hull from Manchester and Leeds, both from December 2017
- bringing in 9,000 extra seats into Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle – an overall capacity boost of nearly 70% across the region during the morning peak
- offering discounted advance fares for 16- to 18-year-olds and jobseekers