Northern Trains

Northern Trains Limited, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates local services and medium-distance inter-city routes 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; this was amid widespread dissatisfaction over its performance, particularly in respect of poorly implemented timetable changes.

The company commenced operating the Northern franchise on 1 March 2020; 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.

Long-term changes will include procurement of up to 386 new trains totalling 896 carriages, with planned introduction in 2030 in two phases with a further phase to be developed. These new trains will replace most of the current fleet including all ageing Sprinter trains, Class 323 and Class 333 units. The company will benefit from streamlined fleets to reduce both training and maintenance requirements, allowing for operational improvements as well as reduced carbon emissions.