Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

Regional Railways Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...

FirstBus FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Grand Central, a

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

/ Via-GTI consortium, National Express, Prism Rail and

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

. The franchise commenced on 2 March 1997. In May 1998, the franchise was rebranded as Northern Spirit with a livery of turquoise with a lime green stylised italic ''N'' across the midsection introduced. At the same time, the long distance regional services connecting Sunderland, Newcastle, Scarborough and

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

with

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

were sub-branded under the TransPennine Express banner with rolling stock painted in a base colour of maroon with a gold stylised italic ''N'' across the midsection. These services would later become a franchise in their own right from 2004, namely the Transpennine franchise, which is currently operated by TransPennine Express. On 18 February 2000, MTL was purchased by Arriva, and on 27 April 2001 the franchise was rebranded as Arriva Trains Northern. The Arriva corporate turquoise and stone livery was introduced on refurbished 153352 in July 2001.

Services

Arriva Trains Northern operated a mix of long distance regional, local urban and rural passenger services in the North of England and Yorkshire and the Humber extending across the Pennines. The network extended from Carlisle and

Chathill Chathill is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ellingham, in Northumberland, England. It is about north of Alnwick and inland from the North Sea coast. It is served by Chathill railway station. It is on the main road serv ...

in the north to Sunderland, Scarborough,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and Cleethorpes on the east coast down to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

and across to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

and Morecambe on the West Coast. A daily

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

to Glasgow Central via the Settle & Carlisle and West Coast Main Lines service was introduced in September 1999, the first time such a service had operated since 1982.

Problems

A long-running dispute with the RMT union lead to a prolonged period of industrial action. As a result, in 2001, the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. I ...

imposed a £2million fine. Throughout its life, the franchise suffered a shortage of drivers and rolling stock which led to many cancellations on a daily basis. An emergency timetable was later brought in which cancelled many services on a permanent basis rather than random as before.

Rolling stock

Arriva Trains Northern inherited a fleet of Class 142,

Class 144 The British Rail Class 144 ''Pacer'' was a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train built at Derby between 1986 and 1987. BR, seeking to procure improved derivatives of the earlier Class 141, placed an order with the manufacturers British ...

, Class 150, Class 155, Class 156, Class 158, Class 308 and Class 321s from

Regional Railways Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...

. In September 1998, Northern Spirit traded seven of its Class 142s (142085-091) to Valley Lines in exchange for seven Class 150s (150268-274), although between October and December 2002 these were swapped for unrefurbished units 142072-77 and 142080-083, as 142086-091 had only recently been refurbished by Northern Spirit and Valley Lines wished to start their own refurbishment from scratch. In January 2001, the first of 16 Class 333s ordered to replace the Class 308s, entered service. A shortage of available rolling stock to meet increasing demand led Arriva Trains Northern to lease Class 37s and ex

Virgin CrossCountry Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in t ...

Mark 2 carriages from English Welsh & Scottish to top and tail a daily service from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

to Carlisle for 12 months from September 2003. It also operated a peak hour

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

to Leeds service. Some of the rolling stock was owned by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and these were repainted red and silver with the Metro logos of the passenger transport executive.

Depots

Arriva Trains Northern's fleet was maintained at Heaton depot in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and Neville Hill depot in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

.

Demise

In 2000, the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. I ...

announced that it planned to create a new TransPennine Express franchise transferring Arriva Train Northern's long distance regional services with the remainder to be combined with those of the Regional Railways North West franchise to form a new Northern Rail franchise. In July 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the TransPennine franchise to

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Keolis with services operated by Arriva Trains Northern transferring to First TransPennine Express on 1 February 2004. In July 2004, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the Northern Rail franchise to Serco-Abellio with the remaining services operated by Arriva Trains Northern transferring to Northern Rail on 12 December 2004."Serco and NedRailways joint bid secures new Northern franchise" ''Rail Express'' issue 99 August 2004 page 5

References

External links

, - {{UK TOCs, defunct, state=collapsed Arriva Group companies Defunct train operating companies Railway companies established in 1997 Railway companies disestablished in 2004 1997 establishments in England 2004 disestablishments in England