Arriva Rail North Limited (T/A Northern by Arriva) Metro-Cammell Weymann Class 156 Super Sprinter Diesel Multiple Unit
A problematic company
Northern (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) is a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operator Northern Rail. A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, Northern is the second-largest train franchise in the United Kingdom; its trains call at 528 stations – about a quarter of all stations in the country.
Central to franchise commitments will be a £500 million investment in 101 new-built units – the Class 195 and 331. These will be the first new-build trains for the Northern franchise since the introduction of the Class 333 in 2000 with further orders possible if the new units encourage passenger growth and improve passenger satisfaction. The first units were introduced in July 2019 and the new rolling stock will enable all 102 Pacer trains currently in service with Northern to be retired by the end of 2019. Additionally the Class 319 units will be replaced by the entire fleet of Class 323 units by 2022. It is also planned that a franchise sub-brand, known as Northern Connect, will provide inter-urban services between major cities and towns in Northern England, as well as serving a number of major commuting stations.
Since the franchise began in April 2016, it has been beset by more late trains, poor customer service, frequent industrial action by staff, and delays in introducing new rolling stock. The franchise will run to 2025 with an option for an additional year which is dependent on performance.
The franchise was widely criticised for implementing a new timetable in May 2018 which resulted in widespread delays and cancellations. Network Rail and Northern announced an independent inquiry to learn lessons and identify route alterations in readiness for the next timetable change in December 2018. In an attempt to counter operational problems, Northern implemented an emergency timetable on 4 June 2018 – it stemmed some delays and cancellations but was still problematic compared with performance before the timetable changes.
Punctuality was particularly bad in the North West due to the delay in the Blackpool–Preston electrification scheme, and the number of trains per hour through Manchester increased, with more trains using the Ordsall Chord which became operational in December 2017. Network Rail only informed train operating companies in January 2018 that the electrification scheme would be delayed until November; Northern had planned for the scheme to be complete as scheduled by May 2018 (it had already been postponed from Autumn 2017) and had trained drivers to operate new routes with electric rolling stock. Consequently, an alternative timetable had to be drafted up, and many train drivers were not sufficiently trained to drive the existing diesel rolling stock; this resulted in widespread cancellations. Furthermore, the additional services through the Manchester corridor resulted in increased congestion, and this had a knock-on effect. Performance statistics published by the Office of Rail and Road in October 2018 showed that from April to June 2018, the franchise recorded the lowest PPM – measured by train service departing within 5 minutes of its scheduled time – of any quarter since punctuality records began on the Northern franchise in 2009.
Performance later in 2018 continued to be poor, with many passengers protesting and a reduced service on Saturdays due to industrial action. In October 2018 it was announced that Manchester Oxford Road station, the busiest station managed by Northern with over 8 million passengers, was the most delayed station in the United Kingdom in 2018 – this was attributed to the chaos following the May 2018 timetable. Between 14 October and 10 November 2018, Northern recorded the worst monthly performance on record, with more trains late than on time. Less than 40% of services arrived on time (defined as services arriving within 59 seconds of the planned arrival time) and only 71.9% departed within 5 minutes of the scheduled departure time.
By November 2018, Arriva were re-evaluating their future involvement in the franchise due to a combination of declining passenger numbers as a result of the chaotic May 2018 timetable change and increasing compensation claims as a result of falling punctuality. Both have pushed the franchise into financial losses and face[clarification needed] a £282 million government subsidy shortfall which was due to be passed onto the franchise. Since the franchise commenced in April 2016 and despite an increase of 1,500 more weekly services transferred to Northern's operational remit, Northern has achieved no growth in passenger numbers. Between April and June 2018, the franchise suffered a 2.4% decline in passenger numbers compared with the previous year. Of the 22 train operating companies in the United Kingdom to record a fall in passengers, Northern were one of only three franchises to record a year-on-year drop in passenger numbers in 2017–18.
In June 2019, the Operator of Last Resort (managed by the Department for Transport) conducted due diligence into the franchise believing the both operational and financial performance to be "unsustainable". The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, overtly demanded that the franchise be terminated as Northern have not delivered legally-binding franchise requirements as agreed in 2016 when the franchise commenced – citing disproportionate number of cancelled services, inability to deliver a full Sunday service due to a lack of drivers and failure to deliver new services.
On 1 July 2019, the first nine units – seven Class 195 units and two Class 331 units – were introduced with a further 93 units to be introduced over the following 12 months. The initial roll-out commenced on three routes: Manchester Airport to Liverpool Lime Street and Barrow/Windermere and Leeds to Doncaster.
The franchise made a £21 million profit in 2016-17 and an £11.7 million profit in 2017-18 - a figure which does not include the fallout from the May 2018 timetable chaos. At the start of the franchise, it was agreed that there would be a subsidy of £275m in its first year and £260 in its third year - although Northern had received slightly more due to promised infrastructure improvements which the government had failed to deliver such as platforms 15 and 16 at Manchester Piccadilly. This was intended to fall sharply in 2020 to £221 million and by the end of the franchise in 2025 it would only receive £39 million.
The fall in subsidy over the franchise is likely to push Arriva into a loss; The Times reported in summer 2019 that the Department of Transport viewed the franchise as "unsustainable" and were readying an Operator of Last Resort (OoLR) in the event the franchise collapses.The franchise has struggled to increase passenger numbers, a challenge which was exacerbated by the fallout from the chaotic May 2018 timetable change.
As if to emphasise the difficulties, here we find 156440 getting ready to leave Liverpool Lime Street with a delayed service to Manchester.
Arriva Rail North Limited (T/A Northern by Arriva) Metro-Cammell Weymann Class 156 Super Sprinter Diesel Multiple Unit
A problematic company
Northern (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) is a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operator Northern Rail. A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, Northern is the second-largest train franchise in the United Kingdom; its trains call at 528 stations – about a quarter of all stations in the country.
Central to franchise commitments will be a £500 million investment in 101 new-built units – the Class 195 and 331. These will be the first new-build trains for the Northern franchise since the introduction of the Class 333 in 2000 with further orders possible if the new units encourage passenger growth and improve passenger satisfaction. The first units were introduced in July 2019 and the new rolling stock will enable all 102 Pacer trains currently in service with Northern to be retired by the end of 2019. Additionally the Class 319 units will be replaced by the entire fleet of Class 323 units by 2022. It is also planned that a franchise sub-brand, known as Northern Connect, will provide inter-urban services between major cities and towns in Northern England, as well as serving a number of major commuting stations.
Since the franchise began in April 2016, it has been beset by more late trains, poor customer service, frequent industrial action by staff, and delays in introducing new rolling stock. The franchise will run to 2025 with an option for an additional year which is dependent on performance.
The franchise was widely criticised for implementing a new timetable in May 2018 which resulted in widespread delays and cancellations. Network Rail and Northern announced an independent inquiry to learn lessons and identify route alterations in readiness for the next timetable change in December 2018. In an attempt to counter operational problems, Northern implemented an emergency timetable on 4 June 2018 – it stemmed some delays and cancellations but was still problematic compared with performance before the timetable changes.
Punctuality was particularly bad in the North West due to the delay in the Blackpool–Preston electrification scheme, and the number of trains per hour through Manchester increased, with more trains using the Ordsall Chord which became operational in December 2017. Network Rail only informed train operating companies in January 2018 that the electrification scheme would be delayed until November; Northern had planned for the scheme to be complete as scheduled by May 2018 (it had already been postponed from Autumn 2017) and had trained drivers to operate new routes with electric rolling stock. Consequently, an alternative timetable had to be drafted up, and many train drivers were not sufficiently trained to drive the existing diesel rolling stock; this resulted in widespread cancellations. Furthermore, the additional services through the Manchester corridor resulted in increased congestion, and this had a knock-on effect. Performance statistics published by the Office of Rail and Road in October 2018 showed that from April to June 2018, the franchise recorded the lowest PPM – measured by train service departing within 5 minutes of its scheduled time – of any quarter since punctuality records began on the Northern franchise in 2009.
Performance later in 2018 continued to be poor, with many passengers protesting and a reduced service on Saturdays due to industrial action. In October 2018 it was announced that Manchester Oxford Road station, the busiest station managed by Northern with over 8 million passengers, was the most delayed station in the United Kingdom in 2018 – this was attributed to the chaos following the May 2018 timetable. Between 14 October and 10 November 2018, Northern recorded the worst monthly performance on record, with more trains late than on time. Less than 40% of services arrived on time (defined as services arriving within 59 seconds of the planned arrival time) and only 71.9% departed within 5 minutes of the scheduled departure time.
By November 2018, Arriva were re-evaluating their future involvement in the franchise due to a combination of declining passenger numbers as a result of the chaotic May 2018 timetable change and increasing compensation claims as a result of falling punctuality. Both have pushed the franchise into financial losses and face[clarification needed] a £282 million government subsidy shortfall which was due to be passed onto the franchise. Since the franchise commenced in April 2016 and despite an increase of 1,500 more weekly services transferred to Northern's operational remit, Northern has achieved no growth in passenger numbers. Between April and June 2018, the franchise suffered a 2.4% decline in passenger numbers compared with the previous year. Of the 22 train operating companies in the United Kingdom to record a fall in passengers, Northern were one of only three franchises to record a year-on-year drop in passenger numbers in 2017–18.
In June 2019, the Operator of Last Resort (managed by the Department for Transport) conducted due diligence into the franchise believing the both operational and financial performance to be "unsustainable". The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, overtly demanded that the franchise be terminated as Northern have not delivered legally-binding franchise requirements as agreed in 2016 when the franchise commenced – citing disproportionate number of cancelled services, inability to deliver a full Sunday service due to a lack of drivers and failure to deliver new services.
On 1 July 2019, the first nine units – seven Class 195 units and two Class 331 units – were introduced with a further 93 units to be introduced over the following 12 months. The initial roll-out commenced on three routes: Manchester Airport to Liverpool Lime Street and Barrow/Windermere and Leeds to Doncaster.
The franchise made a £21 million profit in 2016-17 and an £11.7 million profit in 2017-18 - a figure which does not include the fallout from the May 2018 timetable chaos. At the start of the franchise, it was agreed that there would be a subsidy of £275m in its first year and £260 in its third year - although Northern had received slightly more due to promised infrastructure improvements which the government had failed to deliver such as platforms 15 and 16 at Manchester Piccadilly. This was intended to fall sharply in 2020 to £221 million and by the end of the franchise in 2025 it would only receive £39 million.
The fall in subsidy over the franchise is likely to push Arriva into a loss; The Times reported in summer 2019 that the Department of Transport viewed the franchise as "unsustainable" and were readying an Operator of Last Resort (OoLR) in the event the franchise collapses.The franchise has struggled to increase passenger numbers, a challenge which was exacerbated by the fallout from the chaotic May 2018 timetable change.
As if to emphasise the difficulties, here we find 156440 getting ready to leave Liverpool Lime Street with a delayed service to Manchester.