Dear Colleague,
I am pleased to inform you that my Rt Hon friend the Secretary of State for Transport today announced his intention to award two new passenger rail franchises. Following separate, rigorous competitions he intends to award the Northern franchise to Arriva Rail North Ltd, part of Arriva, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn AG, and the TransPennine Express (TPE) franchise to First TransPennine Express Ltd, which is owned by First Group. These awards will be confirmed subject to successful completion of a standstill period of at least 10 days.
Both franchises are due to start on 1 April 2016. The Northern franchise will run for nine years, until 31 March 2025, with an extension of one year callable at the Secretary of State’s discretion. The TPE franchise will run for seven years, until 31 March 2023, with an extension of two years callable at the Secretary of State’s discretion.
These new franchises, coupled with our continued commitment and investment in improving the region’s infrastructure, will mean that rail journeys in the North of England will undergo the biggest transformation in decades. The franchises provide an unprecedented package of improvements over the next four years that goes above and beyond the ambitious plans we set out in our specifications in February. We promised passengers in the north and into Scotland that we would give them the high-quality rail services that the Northern Powerhouse deserves and these awards are delivering exactly that.
Over the course of their respective franchises First TransPennine Express and Arriva Rail North will each be investing heavily to provide an improved service to passengers. Between them across the region they will:
• Introduce more than 500 brand-new carriages
• Remove the outdated and unpopular Pacer trains from across the North
• Create space for 40,000 extra passengers at the busiest times
• Bring in thousands of extra services a week
• Roll out free Wi-Fi on trains and at stations
• Install on-board media servers providing entertainment and real-time passenger information to smartphones and tablets
• Introduce automatic delay compensation for season and advance purchase ticket-holders
• Meet challenging targets to reduce cancellations and short-formations
• Invest more than £55m in improving stations and bring them into the 21st century;
• Make a massive £1.2bn investment across both franchises.
In addition, there are a number of benefits, which may be of particular interest to your constituents:
The new franchises will have a number of benefits for rail passengers across North Yorkshire, including double the number of trains from many stations. These include from Scarborough, where there will be Northern services every hour direct to York and Hull, including on Sundays, in addition to the existing York TPE services. Passenger travelling with TPE direct to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool will enjoy longer, brand new trains.
From Selby, there will be a full hourly Northern service to Hull, York, Bridlington, and Beverley and a new Northern Sunday service to Leeds.
Between 7am and 7pm, four trains per hour will be provided between Harrogate and Leeds across the Northern and Virgin East Coast franchises. The additional Northern services to Leeds will be up to 20% quicker. There will also be enhanced evening and Sunday services. Passengers travelling to Cattal, Hammerton and Poppleton stations will also benefit from an additional late evening service from Leeds.
There will be an extra service from Whitby, and the new Northern operator has committed to working with the local community on developing an evening link to Middlesbrough.
Cononley, Pannal and Starbeck stations will be staffed between 0700 and 1100, whilst Knaresborough and Hornbeam Park stations are to be staffed between 0700 and 1900. New secure cycle parking spaces and bus passenger information screens will be installed at Malton, Northallerton and Thirsk stations.
These improvements – together with our commitment and investment in transport infrastructure across the north– will help the region realise its full economic potential and build the Northern Powerhouse. Further details about the awards can be found online at
These franchises have been designed for the North with the close involvement of Rail North Ltd, which represents the region’s 29 local transport authorities, and crucially they will be managed in the North. In March this year the Secretary of State concluded a partnership agreement with Rail North Ltd that will devolve the management of these franchises to a team based in Leeds that will report to a joint Rail North/ DfT Strategic Board. Pending confirmation of the awards, the Department will lead the mobilisation of the two franchises whilst setting in place the necessary arrangements and knowledge transfer to enable the franchises to be managed by the devolved team.
Overall, this is a hugely positive story for rail users in the North of England and into Scotland. The new franchises will transform the quality and capacity of rail services across the region. Through the partnership with Rail North Limited, they also mark a significant step in the devolution of greater responsibility for decision making on transport matters to local authorities, as we invest record amounts to modernise our railways, rebalance our economy and create a Northern Powerhouse. I hope you will join me in welcoming today’s announcement.
From the Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State
Andrew Jones MP