Supporting the Northern Powerhouse

Changes happening now in the North

Below are press releases from rail companies in the North promoting changes and improvements happening in the area.

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Hot food returns as LNER further enhances onboard catering
LNER will be serving a selection of hot food from 30 September as catering services continue to be reintroduced. Customers in...
New joint working pilot between rail companies and BTP in London
Four train firms, Great Northern, Southeastern, Southern and Thameslink, are working together with the British Transport...
Penrith scoops Medium Station of the Year at National Rail Awards
Penrith station has been named Medium Station of the Year at the National Rail Awards 2020. The Cumbrian station, which is...
Metro passengers can now use an app to see how busy the trains are
Metro passengers can now use a smartphone app to see how busy the trains are during the coronavirus crisis. Nexus, the public...
Merseyrail issues travel advice to passengers following local lockdown
Following the announcement of further restrictions affecting parts of the Liverpool City Region, Merseyrail has issued travel...
LNER opens nominations for the customer choice awards
Customers can now nominate staff members from along the iconic East Coast route who have given outstanding customer service....

Big Changes in 2020

Passengers, communities and businesses in the North will benefit from big changes happening on our railway.

New trains

220 new Nova carriages by May 2020 on TransPennine Express
New trains on Merseyrail from 2020 that can carry 50% more passengers
Refurbished trains on the West Coast by the end of 2020
65 new Azuma trains on LNER will be rolled out by June 2020
101 new Northern trains worth £500m and 243 refurbished trains coming throughout 2019 and 2020
Five new trains for Hull Trains passengers, worth £60 million from late 2019

Stations, tracks, depots

Merseyrail infrastructure upgrades including track, platforms, power supplies and depots at Kirkdale and Birkenhead North
Northern has installed more than 600 touch screen ticket machines, making it easier to get the right ticket
New stations opening at Warrington West and Horden
TransPennine Express will continue introducing mobile touch screen information points at all stations

Communities

Merseyrail working with 7,000 students in 2020 on rail safety and careers within the rail industry
First TrenItalia committing to £70 million for free on train Wi-Fi and 5G capability
Northern launched All Right, a railway suicide prevention scheme
LNER planted more than 2,800 trees in partnership with the Carbon Trust

Major upgrade work

£13 billion commitment to transform transport in the North
£460 million programme of investment, managed by Merseytravel
Over 100 platforms will be extended at more than 70 stations
Extra platform at Leeds station

View all the big changes happening across Britain

People across the North support rail companies’ proposals for change

The rail industry recognise the need for big changes, that's why together we submitted proposals for a radical alternative to the current franchising system to the independently-chaired Williams review looking into the future of Britain's railway. We proposed for a more customer focussed, joined-up and accountable railway.

Find out more about our Big Plan for change