New name for Northern service
Earlier this week plans were announced to re-nationalise Northern Trains – a Franchise which has recently been ran by Arriva (a spanish company)
Northern by Arriva have been the subject of many complaints by passengers for a good few years now. Recently improvements have been made to some of the rolling stock used by the company but the small progress seen just hasn’t been enough for the company to retain their franchise.
The move to re-nationalise the rail provider has been welcomed by many already as a great move.
In previous weeks Northern have been recruiting train drivers with a salary advertised at a whopping £53,000.
Grant Shapps Transport Secretary told Parliament last year that he was opening a request for proposals on the franchise after passengers had suffered months of disruption. At the time, he said he was considering all options, including nationalising services.
But earlier this month, Shapps revealed that his investigation into Northern’s finances showed the franchise was no longer sustainable and could only continue “for a number of months”.
This week he confirmed to Parliament the franchise would be taken away from current operator Arriva Rail North on 1 March 2020, at which point services will be handed to a public-sector firm.
It was announced yesterday that this new firm will be called Northern Trains LTD
