Editing Arriva Trains Northern

{{Short description|Former British train operating company}}
{{About|franchise fully operated by Arriva from 2000 until 2004|franchise operated by Arriva from 2016 until 2020|Arriva Rail North}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox rail company
|logo           = ArrivaClassic.svg
|name           = Arriva Trains Northern
|image          = 153304 leaving Hatfield and Stainforth on 18-06-02.jpg
|image_size     =
|caption        = [[British Rail Class 153|Class 153]] leaving {{stn|Hatfield and Stainforth}}
|franchise      = Regional Railways North East<br>2 March 1997 – 11 December 2004
|regions        = [[North East England|North East]]<br>[[Yorkshire]]
|secregions     = [[North West England|North West]]<br>[[North Midlands]]
|fleet          = 169 until February 2004<br>141 after February 2004
|stations       = 
|abbr           = AN (NS when Northern Spirit)
|parent_company = [[Arriva]]
|website        = {{webarchive|title=arrivatrainsnorthern.co.uk|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205195246/http://www.arrivatrainsnorthern.co.uk/}}
|linelength     = 
|tracklength    = 
|notrack        = 
|gauge          =
|oldgauge       = 
|el             = 
|speed          = 
|elevation      = 
|map            = 
|predecessor=[[Regional Railways]]|successors={{ubl|[[First TransPennine Express]]|[[Northern Rail]]}}}}
'''Arriva Trains Northern'''<ref>[http://data.companieshouse.gov.uk/doc/company/03007932 Companies House extract company no 3007932] Arriva Trains Northern Limited formerly Northern Spirit Limited formerly Regional Railways North East Limited</ref> was a [[train operating company]] in England owned by [[Arriva]] that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. 

== History ==
[[File:Northern 156483 Hull 25-10-2006.jpg|thumb|Northern Spirit liveried 156483 at {{stn|Hull}}, 2006]]
[[File:TPE 158774.jpg|thumb|158774 in Trans Pennine Express livery at {{stnlnk|Stockport}}]]
As part of the [[privatisation of British Rail]], the [[Regional Railways]] North East franchise was awarded by the [[Director of Passenger Rail Franchising]] to [[MTL (transport company)|MTL]] after it won the contest from a field of [[Veolia Transport|Connex]], [[FirstGroup|FirstBus]], [[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]], a [[Management buyout|management]]/[[Keolis|Via-GTI]] consortium, [[National Express]], [[Prism Rail]] and [[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach]].<ref>"RRNE franchise process revealed" ''[[Rail Business Intelligence|Rail Privatisation News]]'' issue 45 9 January 1997 page 1</ref><ref>"MTL nets RRNE" ''Rail Privatisation News'' issue 48 20 February 1997 page 4</ref> The franchise commenced on 2 March 1997.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= MTL lands a second franchise with RRNE |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1152  |date= April 1997 |page=8}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Northern Spirit is brand new name for Regional Railways North East |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=332  |date=3 June 1998 |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Regional Railways North East rebranded as Northern Spirit |magazine= [[Rail Express]] |issue=26 July 1998  |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Regional Railways North East renamed Northern Spirit |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1167  |date= July 1998 |page=55}}</ref>

At the same time, the long distance regional services connecting [[Sunderland railway station|Sunderland]], [[Newcastle railway station|Newcastle]], [[Scarborough railway station|Scarborough]] and [[Hull Paragon Interchange|Hull]] with [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester]], [[Liverpool Lime Street railway station|Liverpool]] and [[Blackpool North railway station|Blackpool]] 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,  which is currently operated by [[TransPennine Express]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yhtar.org.uk/tpebriefnote.pdf |title=Yorkshire & The Humber Transport Activist's Roundtable |date=2001 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041020125001/http://www.yhtar.org.uk/tpebriefnote.pdf |archivedate=20 October 2004 |df=dmy }}</ref>

On 18 February 2000, MTL was purchased by [[Arriva]],<ref>[http://www.investegate.co.uk/articlePrint.aspx?id=200002180730228111F Recommended Cash Offer for MTL Services] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414091304/http://www.investegate.co.uk/articlePrint.aspx?id=200002180730228111F |date=14 April 2016 }} Arriva 18 February 2000</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva buys MTL for £84m |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=378  |date= 8 March 2000 |page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva to take over MTL's two franchises |magazine= [[Rail Express]] |issue=46 |date=March 2000 |page=6}}</ref> and on 27 April 2001 the franchise was rebranded as Arriva Trains Northern.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Name changes for Arriva TOCs |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=408 |date=2 May 2001 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= End for Northern Spirit as two TOCs get new names |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1203 |date= July 2001 |page=12}}</ref> The Arriva corporate turquoise and stone livery was introduced on refurbished 153352 in July 2001.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva launches refurbished Class 153 |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=415 |date= 8 August 2001 |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva Northern unveils new branding |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1206 |date= October 2001 |page=72}}</ref>

==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 railway station|Carlisle]] and [[Chathill railway station|Chathill]] in the north to [[Sunderland railway station|Sunderland]], [[Scarborough railway station|Scarborough]], [[Hull Paragon Interchange|Hull]] and [[Cleethorpes railway station|Cleethorpes]] on the east coast down to [[Sheffield railway station|Sheffield]] and across to [[Manchester Piccadilly station|Manchester]], [[Liverpool Lime Street railway station|Liverpool]], [[Blackpool North railway station|Blackpool]] and [[Morecambe railway station|Morecambe]] on the West Coast.

A daily [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]] to [[Glasgow Central railway station|Glasgow Central]] via the [[Settle-Carlisle line|Settle & Carlisle]] and [[West Coast Main Line]]s service was introduced in September 1999, the first time such a service had operated since 1982.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Northern Spirit to serve Scotland from September |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=363 |date= 11 August 1999 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= New Northern Spirit Anglo-Scottish service starts |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=369 |date= 3 November 1999 |page=11}}</ref>

==Problems==
A long-running dispute with the [[National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers|RMT union]] lead to a prolonged period of industrial action. As a result, in 2001, the [[Strategic Rail Authority]] imposed a £2{{nbsp}}million fine.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= SRA hits Arriva with £2m fine |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1208 |date= 3 December 2001 |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva fined £2m as 1,000 services a week cancelled |magazine= [[Rail Express]] |issue=67 |date= December 2001 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Strategic Rail Authority confirms Arriva Trains Northern £2m fine |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=433 |date= 17 April 2002 |page=4}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva Northern switches to emergency timetable |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1209 |date= January 2002 |page=8}}</ref>

==Rolling stock==
Arriva Trains Northern inherited a fleet of [[British Rail Class 142|Class 142]], [[British Rail Class 144|Class 144]], [[British Rail Class 150|Class 150]], [[British Rail Class 153|Class 153]], [[British Rail Class 155|Class 155]], [[British Rail Class 156|Class 156]], [[British Rail Class 158|Class 158]], [[British Rail Class 308|Class 308]] and [[British Rail Class 321|Class 321s]] from [[Regional Railways]].

In September 1998, Northern Spirit traded seven of its Class 142s (142085-091) to [[Valley Lines (train operating company)|Valley Lines]] in exchange for seven Class 150s (150268-274),<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Northern Spirit and Cardiff swap DMUs |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=340 |date= 23 September 1998 |page=9}}</ref> 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 [[British Rail Class 333|Class 333s]] ordered to replace the Class 308s, entered service.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= RRNE confirms orders for 16 Class 333 EMUs for West Yorkshire |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=327 |date= 25 March 1998 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva's Northern Spirit Class 333 EMU is delivered |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=379 |date= 22 March 2000 |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Class 333s in service at last |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1199 |date= March 2001 |page=11}}</ref>

A shortage of available rolling stock to meet increasing demand led Arriva Trains Northern to lease [[British Rail Class 37|Class 37s]] and ex [[Virgin CrossCountry]] [[British Rail Mark 2|Mark 2 carriages]] from [[DB Cargo UK|English Welsh & Scottish]] to top and tail a daily service from [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]] to [[Carlisle railway station|Carlisle]] for 12 months from September 2003.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= EWS 37s for Leeds-Carlisle Arriva trains |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=466 |date= 23 July 2003 |page=16}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva Trains Northern to run loco-hauled service over S&C |magazine= [[Rail Express]] |issue=87 |date= August 2003 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Loco-hauled trains back on the S&C |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1229 |date= September 2003 |page=7}}</ref> It also operated a peak hour [[Knaresborough railway station|Knaresborough]] to Leeds service.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Arriva settles with EWS |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=480 |date= 4 February 2004 |page=40}}</ref>

Some of the rolling stock was owned by the [[West Yorkshire Metro|West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive]] and these were repainted red and silver with the Metro logos of the passenger transport executive.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= New look for West Yorkshire units |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=344 |date= 18 November 1998 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= West Yorkshire PTE unveils new Class 158 livery |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1173 |date= January 1999 |page=56}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"
! rowspan="2" |Class
! rowspan="2" |Image
! rowspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Top speed
! rowspan="2" |Number
! rowspan="2" |Built
|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"
!mph
!km/h
|-
|[[British Rail Class 142|142 ''Pacer'']]
|[[File:Wakefield_Kirkgate_2.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="7" |[[Diesel multiple unit]]
| rowspan="6" |75
| rowspan="6" |120
|6
|1985{{ndash}}1987
|-
|[[British Rail Class 144|144 ''Pacer'']]
|[[File:Sheffield trains 2008 2.jpg|100px]]
|23
|1986{{ndash}}1987
|-
|[[British Rail Class 150|150 ''Sprinter'']]
|[[File:Arriva NWalesTrain.JPG|100px]]
|10
|1985{{ndash}}1987
|-
|[[British Rail Class 153|153 ''Super Sprinter'']]
|[[File:153304 at Doncaster.JPG|100px]]
|20
| rowspan="2" |1987{{ndash}}1988
|-
|[[British Rail Class 155|155 ''Super Sprinter'']]
|[[File:Northern-155346-02.jpg|100px]]
|7
|-
|[[British Rail Class 156|156 ''Super Sprinter'']]
|[[File:156443 at Carlisle.JPG|100px]]
|46
|1987{{ndash}}1989
|-
|[[British Rail Class 158|158 ''Express Sprinter'']]
|[[File:158798_at_Doncaster.JPG|100px]]
|90
|145
|38
|1989{{ndash}}1992
|-
|[[British Rail Class 308|308]]
|[[File:BR 308143 EMU.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Electric multiple unit]]
|75
|120
|33
|1961
|-
|[[British Rail Class 321|321]]
|[[File:321901 at Doncaster.JPG|100px]]
| rowspan="3" |100
| rowspan="3" |160
|3
|1991
|-
|[[British Rail Class 333|333]]
|[[File:Hugh llewelyn 333 010 (6285771387).jpg|100px]]
|16
|2000{{ndash}}2003
|-
|[[British Rail Mark 2|Mark 2 carriage]]
|[[File:Mk 2F TSO 6035 at Carlisle.JPG|100px]]
|[[British Rail Mark 2|carriage]]
|6
|1969{{ndash}}1974
|}

==Depots==
Arriva Trains Northern's fleet was maintained at [[Heaton TMD|Heaton]] depot in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] and [[Neville Hill depot]] in [[Leeds]].

==Demise==
In 2000, the [[Strategic Rail Authority]] 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 [[First North Western|Regional Railways North West franchise]] to form a new Northern Rail franchise.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= TransPennine TOC to be created by SSRA puts five franchises up for sale early |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1189 |date= May 2000 |page=37}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041020125001/http://www.yhtar.org.uk/tpebriefnote.pdf The Trans-Pennine Express rail franchise]}} ''Yorkshire & The Humber Transport Activist's Roundtable'' Briefing Note October 2001</ref>

In July 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the TransPennine franchise to [[FirstGroup]]/[[Keolis]] with services operated by Arriva Trains Northern transferring to [[First TransPennine Express]] on 1 February 2004.<ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090826025317/http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/releases/sra/2003a1/2003b/nnouncepreferredbidderfo1524.pdf SRA Announce Preferred Bidder for TransPennine Express Franchise] Strategic Rail Authority 28 July 2003</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= First wins TranPennine Express and promises new 100mph trains |magazine= [[Rail Magazine]] |issue=468 |date= 20 August 2003 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= First Group to operate Trans-Pennine Express |magazine= [[Rail Express]] |issue=88 |date= September 2003 |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Trans Pennine DMU order follows franchise victory for First Group/Keolis joint bid |magazine= [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1230 |date= October 2003 |page=35}}</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.serco.com/Images/010704NorthernRailFranchisePressRelease_tcm3-2158.pdf Serco joint venture selected as preferred bidder for Northern Rail train operating franchise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127223255/http://serco.com/Images/010704NorthernRailFranchisePressRelease_tcm3-2158.pdf |date=27 November 2010 }} Serco Group 1 July 2004</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Serco and NedRailways joint bid secures new Northern franchise |magazine= [[Rail Express]] |issue=99 |date= August 2004 |page=5}}</ref>

In 2015, it was announced that Arriva had been awarded the Northern franchise, trading this time as [[Arriva Rail North|Northern by Arriva]]. This franchise started in April 2016. However, this franchise was terminated early due to poor performance at the end of February 2020.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Regional Railways]]<br /><small>As part of [[British Rail]]</small>}}
{{S-ttl|rows=2|title=Operator of the Regional Railways North East franchise|years=1997–2004}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Northern Rail]]<br /><small>Northern Rail franchise</small>}}
|-
{{S-aft|after=[[First TransPennine Express]]<br /><small>TransPennine Express franchise</small>}}
{{s-end}}

{{UK TOCs|defunct|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Arriva Group companies]]
[[Category:Defunct train operating companies in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1997]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 2004]]
[[Category:1997 establishments in England]]
[[Category:2004 disestablishments in England]]