All Northern articles – Page 4
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Rail Business UKVirtual reality simulation aims to ‘empower people to use public transport’
UK: A virtual reality simulation is being developed to enable disabled passengers to take simulated journeys where they can experience trains and stations, and interact with on-board staff to find out about the support available. Northern’s Commercial & Customer Director Mark Powles said the aim is ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern’s CAF multiple-units return to service
UK: All but two of Northern’s CAF Class 195 diesel and Class 331 electric multiple-units are now back in service, after analysis of the causes of the cracks discovered in April and the development of a modification that is being rolled out across the Class 195 fleet.
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Rail Business UKClass 769 bi-mode trainsets enter service with Northern
UK: Considerably later than envisaged, Northern’s first Class 769 bi-mode multiple-units entered service with the start of the new timetable on May 17.
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Rail Business UKNorthern withdraws CAF multiple-units after damper bracket failures
UK: A significant number of CAF multiple units operated by Northern were taken out of service at the beginning of April after the failure of a yaw damper mounting bracket. Sections of the vehicle’s structure were broken away completely in the incident. Source: ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern to use Payit for faster refunds
UK: In what the operator says is a first for the rail industry, Northern is to use the NatWest’s Payit payment system to issue refunds almost instantly to customers’ bank accounts. NatWest launched Payit in 2020 to enable instant refunds and customer service payments, as well ...
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Rail Business UKApp to support train crew caring for unwell passengers
UK: Northern is trialling the Unwell Passenger app developed by York-based Incremental Solutions to provide on-train staff with step-by-step instructions to help passengers who become ill or are injured. ‘When a customer is unwell on one of our trains, the onboard member of staff currently has ...
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Rail Business UKTransport for Greater Manchester takes over Horwich Parkway station as a step to more local control
UK: Transport for Greater Manchester replaced Northern Trains Ltd as the operator of Horwich Parkway with effect from February 1, in a move which the authority sees as a first step towards the local management of more stations. TfGM is now responsible for ticket sales, customer service, ...
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Rail Business UKDfT consults on options to decongest Manchester’s railways
UK: A public consultation on options for a recast of services around Manchester to improve performance and reliability was announced by the Department for Transport and Transport for the North on January 14.
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Rail Business UKCAF completes final Class 195 DMU for Northern
UK: CAF has delivered the final Class 195 Civity diesel multiple-unit to Northern, completing the 2016 order for 25 two-car and 33 three-car sets. The final 44 vehicles were assembled at the company’s new factory in Newport, which was opened by Prince of Wales in February, making ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern runs its final Pacer
UK: Following a temporary reprieve to provide additional capacity during the pandemic, Northern has operated its final passenger service with a Pacer diesel multiple-unit. Northern’s final Pacer service ran on November 27, when unit 142 004, coupled to 150 225, left Kirkby at 15.36 and arrived ...
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Rail Business UKRose Hill Marple service cut back as Northern faces training backlog
Northern Managing Director Nick Donovan explains to Rail Business UK why the service from Manchester to Rose Hill Marple has been reduced to just three trains per day.
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Rail Business UK£589m to ‘kickstart’ Transpennine Route Upgrade
UK: The allocation of £589m to ‘kickstart’ the enhancement of the trans-Pennine main line between Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on July 23, along with details of a Northern Transport Acceleration Council which is to be formed ...
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Rail Business UKFlexible ticket trial as Transport for the North plans contactless roll-out
UK:· A smart card-based carnet-style ticketing product valid for travel on Northern services between Leeds and Harrogate has been launched, enabling passengers to buy a bundle of 10 tickets each valid for a day of unlimited travel which can be used at any time during the next ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern review looks beyond Covid-19 recovery
UK: ‘Covid-19 has not changed our commitment to deliver a “new Northern” that will deliver real and tangible improvements for passengers’, said Managing Director Nick Donovan on June 8, as the operator published the results of the ‘100-day review’ commissioned when control of the franchise was transferred to the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort on March 1.
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Rail Business UKColne – Skipton reopening moves closer
UK: Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris has confirmed that investigations have been commissioned into the proposed reinstatement of the 19·3 km Colne – Skipton ‘missing link’ connecting east Lancashire and west Yorkshire.
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Rail Business UKNorthern enters public ownership with new Managing Director
Speaking to Rail Business UK, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps accepted that whilst some changes would come in immediately, including deep cleaning of all trains and improvements to Sunday timetables, passengers needed to accept that ‘things won’t change overnight’.
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Rail Business UKNorthern franchise termination was the only option, says Transport for the North
Industry sources have expressed some unease at the decision to terminate Arriva’s franchise rather than agree to its proposals for stabilisation. But termination was the only available option, Transport for the North Strategic Rail Director David Hoggarth tells Rail Business UK’s Tony Miles.
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Rail Business UKWigan multiple-unit depot inaugurated
Source: Tony Miles UK: Northern and Network Rail have inaugurated a £46m rolling stock stabling and light maintenance facility at Wigan Springs Branch, alongside the former diesel locomotive depot now used by Network Rail. The four-road depot provides Northern with an additional base for its expanding fleet, ...
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Rail Business UKNo immediate changes to follow Northern nationalisation
UK: The Northern franchise which is currently held by Arriva will be nationalised on March 1, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed in a widely-anticipated announcement on January 29. This follows severe performance problems. Last year the Secretary of State requested proposals for the franchise ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern franchise is no longer viable, says Shapps
UK: The current Northern rail franchise is no longer financially viable and will have to be replaced by some form of management contract, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed in a written statement to the House of Commons on January 9.