Northern: Rail firm brought under government control - BBC News, Bbc.com

Media caption
Overcrowding on trains has been one of many issues facing Northern passengers

081% of Northern trains arrived at stations within a minute of the stated time on the timetable

in the (months to 7 December.)

That compares to an average across Britain of % The franchise has also faced challenges due to infrastructure projects, strike action and an ageing fleet of trains.

What else is to blame?

Northern said external factors had made the company plan for the network “undeliverable”.

These included prolonged industrial action by the RMT, and delayed and cancelled infrastructure projects.

More than half of delays on the entire UK rail network were down to problems with the infrastructure – like signalling.

Government-owned firm Network Rail was put on a warning earlier this month

for its poor service on routes in the North West and Midlands.

Who will take over?

Northern services will transfer from Arriva Rail North to Northern Trains Limited, a newly formed subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort (OLR).

OLR, which already manages the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) franchise, is a public company and staffed by experienced train managers which reports directly to the government.

Rail services on the East Coast Main Line were brought back under government control in May 2025.

However, this was only supposed to last for two years.

This is an uncomfortable moment for the government. In the end, nationalizing this vast commuter network was its only option.

An agreement to change Arriva’s contract (Northern’s parent company) and keep the firm on board was not possible because a commercially, and politically, palatable deal couldn’t be found .

Contingency planning for the so-called Operator of Last Resort to step in has been under way for months.

If that work has been done well, it should be a seamless change and passengers should barely notice.

What the government wants on Northern is a new performance-related train contract.

This type of contract already exists on Merseyrail and the London Overground. These two companies do well in terms of passenger satisfaction.

These contracts put less risk on the train company but offer it no financial reward if passenger numbers rise.

As one rail boss described it, this type of system will be very similar to a nationalized railway, but private companies will still have a role to play.

Northern’s failure is in large part down to ancient infrastructure which struggles to cope with the high volume of trains and passengers at peak times.

Put simply, there is no silver bullet for improving our railways.

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