Northern Rail

Northern Rail (commonly known to Northerners as 'Northern') are the latest of operators to run the rail franchise for Northern England. It's a joint 50/50 venture between Serco Group PLC & NedRailways (NS Dutch Railways) and commenced services on 12th December 2004 after the old operator, Arriva, lost the franchise. Northern operate about 200 trains & run a mix of commuter routes, rural routes and some longer distance services in/out & around over 500 stations in Cheshire, County Durham, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland, Tees Valley, Tyne & Wear and Yorkshire. They manage 471 stations on behalf of Network ...  Read the complete review

I thought I'd write something a bit different and talk to you about my journey to and from work - sounds exciting already doesn't it?!!! ---Introduction--- I remember my first time on a Northern rail train. Shattered having come from a day at work in London, I got on the train at Carlisle and drifted in and out of sleep. I awoke to the train stopping. In a panic I rushed to the door only to be told: "It's Flimby. You really don't want to be getting off at Flimby!" Thankfully this stopped me from getting off before the next stop, Workington. It was the railway map which made me pick Workington as a place ...  Read the complete review

Northern Rail (Formerly Metro) Operating out of Leeds for West Yorkshire is probably the most abysmal train service in the UK. I have lived and worked in Leeds, Bradford and Halifax over the past decade and it has to be said that the service was bad to begin with and it has remained bad. In fact it has never been even satisfactory whichever company had the franchise. The rolling stock is decades old, it is slowly being replaced, very very very slowly, however the new carriages are hardly comfortable with the seats being too narrow and an extremely annoying computer sending out public service announcements every two minutes. It also beggars belief ...  Read the complete review

I totally agree with Robert Msc. Metro stinks. I commute from Halifax to other parts of the country on a Monday - Friday basis. The chance of a train from Halifax on a Monday morning being a) available and b) on time seems to be about 50%. The chance of a train from Leeds on a Friday after 4.30pm being dangerously overcrowded is 100%. I have travelled, with other passengers, in the Guard's compartment before now because the overcrowding has been so bad. Given the increased use of rail travel in the region overr the past five years the use of two car trains at peak times beggars belief. Stock is at least 30 years old, filthy and possibly ...  Read the complete review

If I were asked to rate West Yorkshire Metro and their Partners, Northern, on a scale of 1 to 10 I certainly wouldn't be rating them any higher than a 4, and even that would be generous. I am a Metro Card holder and use this on buses and trains on my daily commute between Leeds and Halifax. I use the trains (trains and stations are operated I believe by Northern) between Leeds and Halifax on a daily basis and have been appalled by the level of punctuality and reliability. Trains are routinely late; it is very rare a train will be on time. The reliability of the services is poor as well and it can make commuters lives a misery. In the last 2 months, ...  Read the complete review