Northern staff proud to welcome visitors to Bradford for 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations
Staff who live and work in Bradford believe the year-long event will put the city "on the map” and showcase everything it has to offer.
They have been busy making improvements to Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square, and are now working to ensure they can meet an increase in demand.
Northern, which is supporting the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations, is expecting millions of passengers to travel to theatre and dance performances, live music events, film screenings and art exhibitions that will be held across the district this year.
“We’re looking at all the events that are coming up so we can prepare,” said Jonathan Mountain. “We want to keep people moving and get them where they need to go.”
The retail team leader, who has been with Northern for 27 years and lives in Oakenshaw, said his colleagues are ready to offer advice and recommendations to visitors who are looking to explore their region.
“It’s always nice to welcome new people to Bradford. It’s been through some hard times, but we’ve got some beautiful areas,” he said.
“I recommend that visitors see a show at the Alhambra Theatre or visit Little Germany as it’s an interesting place with a few hidden gems. They should also take a trip to Buttershaw if they’re fans of the film Rita, Sue and Bob Too.
“Bradford has been the butt of many a joke over the years but there’s a lot of optimism around now.”
Jade Carlton, who lives in Bradford and has worked for Northern's retail team for nine years, said there is a real sense of excitement about the UK City of Culture among colleagues and customers.
“It’s great to see the investment that’s come into Bradford and hopefully all of the events will put us on the map and encourage more people to visit,” she said.
“Bradford gets a bad rap sometimes but I think that will change. The City of Culture will bring it to life and everyone will see that it’s full of history, beautiful buildings and interesting people.”
Diane Pounder, who lives in Bradford and has worked for Northern for 23 years, said she was thrilled to see the opening event RISE – an open-air show in City Park – bring thousands of visitors to the city she calls home.
“This will be a good thing for Bradford,” she said. “You can already see it’s making a real difference to the city.
“We get a lot of visitors asking for recommendations when they visit for the first time and most of them seem really interested in the architecture.
“But they also want to find out more about the other places on our doorstep which they can visit, like Saltaire, Skipton and Ilkley.”
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.