Our Northern Vision
Northern plays a vital role in the north of England by connecting tens of thousands of people to work, leisure, education and more every day.
Arriva Rail North Limited, became the new rail operator for Northern on 1 April 2016, marking the start of a nine-year franchise that will transform travel through a £1billion investment in the largest rail network outside London.
Below is a link to our first Customer Report which reveals our vision for the franchise, what we are going to do, when we will do it and the benefits for our customers.
There are many exciting benefits to come as a result of over £1bn of investment during the next 9 years. These include:
- pacer trains being replaced,
- new state-of-the-art trains with a top speed of 100mph,
- existing fleet refurbishment to an as-new condition,
- services becoming faster and more frequent,
- improved customer facilities and more security on stations; and
- many stations with extended opening hours.
This is an exciting prospect for everyone – our customers, staff and other stakeholders.
The Report (which will be published twice a year) also sets out our ambitious, but realistic performance targets to achieve a step change not only in customer satisfaction, but also in service quality on trains and stations for each year of the franchise.
We believe passionately in sharing information clearly and openly because this is the best way to gain understanding and win customer confidence, which we see is key to growing our business sustainably. No false promises, no excuses, just the straight facts, simply presented, so we can be held to account. This will be the distinguishing feature of our Northern franchise.
Achieving the biggest transformation in rail travel in the north for a generation inspires us and we are determined to work very hard to meet our promises and your expectations. If there is anything more we can do to improve your journey, please let me know.
Alex Hynes
Managing Director, Northern