Have Northern Upped Their Game?

[Llandudno]

I have been a big critic of Northern in recent years, but my recent experiences with then have been excellent!

In the past month I must have caught 30+ Northern trains, peak, off peak and late at night, all on time or close enough and no cancellations.

My journeys have been across the network on both sides of the Pennines and the trains have been clean tidy and well presented. On every Northern journey the guard has been visible and conscientiously and politely checked tickets on every train. Can’t believe that this is the same operator and staff as pre-pandemic.


A big thumbs up from me!

As for EMR Regional and TfW well….!

 

[WestRiding]

It'll soon change once Covid isn't relevant.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

You are the CEO of Northern rail AICMFP!

Sadly my experience is vastly different to yours. For me Northern continue to cancel or short-form trains willy nilly, their obsession with irrelevant and unnecessary announcements on their trains makes for a very unpleasant journey and their staff continue to see passengers as an annoying inconvenience.

 

[startingaparty]

Thanks, Grant Schapps. However, I beg to differ. The trains are back to being rammed in the mornings because of short-forms and cancellations. Furthermore, they fail to enforce their own advice on face coverings when said rammed trains are Petri dishes. They’re super-spreader events on tracks. It’s fine for conductors who can isolate themselves in the back cabin but guess the passengers will just have to put up and shut up.

 

[TUC]

Thanks, Grant Schapps. However, I beg to differ. The trains are back to being rammed in the mornings because of short-forms and cancellations. Furthermore, they fail to enforce their own advice on face coverings when said rammed trains are Petri dishes. They’re super-spreader events on tracks. It’s fine for conductors who can isolate themselves in the back cabin but guess the passengers will just have to put up and shut up.

There is nothing to enforce about 'advice'. By definition, advice is voluntary.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

There is nothing to enforce about 'advice'. By definition, advice is voluntary.

Exactly. For the vast majority of passengers, it's Northern's "Please continue to wear a face covering" announcement that annoys rather than its lack of enforcement of voluntary guidance, which is of course an oxymoron!

 

[Llama]

Pretty sure the people of West Lancs, the Fylde and the Calder Valley wouldn't agree that things are getting better after the last few days...

 

[Djgr]

It's not that Northern have upped their game. It's just that everyone else has lowered theirs!

 

[td97]

Commuting 2-3 days a week in September has been stress free with nothing more significant than a 5 minute delay.
1 short form (319 instead of 2x331) was a standing-only experience but otherwise always a seat available.
The trains are cleaner and seem better maintained than they used to be.
Northern get a yes from me

 

[sjasct]

Admittedly I started commuting w/ Northern the day after the OLR takeover, but I haven't had any major issues. I've done at least 3-4 return journeys with them a month, but stepped it up to 3-4 a week during last summer and from August this year. Can only remember one cancellation the entire time with no short-forming - though the route I take (Leeds -> Doncaster / Sheffield) isn't usually that packed either.

 

[johntea]

As someone who lives in Northern land I have found their service of acceptable quality, nothing special but *usually* manages to get you from A to B, especially since they finally ditched the pacers which has improved comfort considerably since I live on the Hallam line, the refurbishment of the existing stock has been done to an excellent standard

I have always found 95% of their staff to be perfectly friendly considering what they must have to put up with on a daily basis, however I am not so keen on their revenue protection contractors many of whom seem poorly trained and have let their (limited) powers get to their head, good luck accessing the excess fares window at Leeds without a mob of them hunting you down!

Arriva leaving the party certainly seems to have had a positive impact too

 

[fgwrich]

It's not that Northern have upped their game. It's just that everyone else has lowered theirs!

Urgh, your telling me. The sooner SWR becomes either an OLR TOC or anyone better than First Group the better. And I've used both!

 

[323235]

I have been a big critic of Northern in recent years, but my recent experiences with then have been excellent!

In the past month I must have caught 30+ Northern trains, peak, off peak and late at night, all on time or close enough and no cancellations.

My journeys have been across the network on both sides of the Pennines and the trains have been clean tidy and well presented. On every Northern journey the guard has been visible and conscientiously and politely checked tickets on every train. Can’t believe that this is the same operator and staff as pre-pandemic.


A big thumbs up from me!

As for EMR Regional and TfW well….!

A bit different to my experience as I've had every issue going but they have managed to get me from A to B eventually though.

 

[David57]

I had a few days up in the Northwest this week, and found them to be perfectly functional....The only negative side was at one Lancasher seaside town, where there was one leaf of a double door open checking tickets, then another ticket check at the barrier line, and the only time I had to show my railcard, and turn it over 'to make sure it had been signed'....

 

[northernchris]

I haven't really noticed a change other than trains are generally cleaner and there's more shortforms considering there's still less services running. Overall though I find them no better and no worse than Arriva

 

[VideozVideoz]

I have been a big critic of Northern in recent years, but my recent experiences with then have been excellent!

In the past month I must have caught 30+ Northern trains, peak, off peak and late at night, all on time or close enough and no cancellations.

My journeys have been across the network on both sides of the Pennines and the trains have been clean tidy and well presented. On every Northern journey the guard has been visible and conscientiously and politely checked tickets on every train. Can’t believe that this is the same operator and staff as pre-pandemic.


A big thumbs up from me!

As for EMR Regional and TfW well….!

Northern have been really good of late in my experience. Nowt to complain about. All trains turned up and on time

 

[dk1]

I had a few days up in the Northwest this week, and found them to be perfectly functional....The only negative side was at one Lancasher seaside town, where there was one leaf of a double door open checking tickets, then another ticket check at the barrier line, and the only time I had to show my railcard, and turn it over 'to make sure it had been signed'....

Now that would be a positive from me. Im happy to see good revenue protection.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Is there any point to signing railcards? I don’t recall my on-phone railcard having to be signed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is there any point to signing railcards? I don’t recall my on-phone railcard having to be signed.

It denotes agreement to the T&Cs, though I agree it probably is in practice a bit pointless and could just be taken off.

 

[Mat17]

I've been using the services around the north for the past twenty years and I can honestly say it's a lot better now than it was during ATN days (2000-2004) those days were grim. Endless cancellations and strikes. I know Northern had the long dispute with guards on strike for Saturdays back in 2018 or 2019, but I regard that as more of a blip to be honest.

When the original Northern took over from ATN and FNW in 2004, I saw a marked improvement, the trains turned up, the strike action stopped and you no longer had to catch the train before the one you needed just in case.

 

[Djgr]

Fans of Northern probably don't want to read today's Liverpool Echo.

"Kids left 'crying' as they're squashed like 'sardines' on last train home"

 

[RPI]

I don't venture that way often but I had a few days around the North West in July and was quite impressed compared to my last experience of Northern in about 2015, the only thing in my opinion that makes Northern look a bit unprofessional is the hideous uniforms, the staff all look like they're working at a low grade chain holiday resort like pontins, thats not a dig at the staff at all as I found their staff actually better than most other TOC'S, I was ticket checked on every train I went on and the guards were always visible.

 

[RailWonderer]

Have to agree, I also don't go up there often but Northern always have friendly staff, always there to check tickets and the stations and trains are clean and well maintained, and mostly on time. The only problems seem to be, like all other ToCs, in the morning peak when short forms are always likely.

 

[Kite159]

Fans of Northern probably don't want to read today's Liverpool Echo.

"Kids left 'crying' as they're squashed like 'sardines' on last train home"

Allow me to guess, last Blackpool - Liverpool train on a Saturday night after the fireworks?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

For many local journeys I can choose Northern, or TPE in the other half hour...

I used to favour TPE, but Northern's units currently seem far cleaner, with staff more visible rather than hiding in the back cab. TPE have really let cleanliness standards slip in the last few weeks, at least on the unglamorous Huddersfield stoppers.

 

[Bertie the bus]

I used to be a regular traveller on Northern pre-pandemic but have only travelled a small number of times since it hit and my opinion of them hasn’t really improved.

Punctuality on the services I have travelled on hasn’t been great and neither has the information provided when there have been problems. I don’t go looking for dirt but in the old days you didn’t need to on Northern trains and I have to admit on the services I have travelled on recently at least they haven’t been rank. As for Northern guards – I’ve never had a problem with them. Ticket checks were and still are a bit hit and miss but when they do occur they are always pleasant enough.

 

[Swanley 59]

i was regular user of Northern pre-pandemic and an occasional user since.

Punctuality has got slightly worse, but that apart things have improved. I haven't had a single cancellation and the 156s and (very occasional) 158s have been nicely turned out. Northern staff were invariably pleasant before, and they are still.

 

[Djgr]

Allow me to guess, last Blackpool - Liverpool train on a Saturday night after the fireworks?

Usual mess that was everyone's fault but theirs.

 

[mrd269697]

Their staff have always been friendly when I’ve dealt with them. Whilst I don’t have to pay on their services as my TOC has an arrangement with them, the mrs has a railcard that she uses when we go on days out. I’ve found they almost always have extremely cheap advance tickets available, even up to the day of travelling. With a railcard, to and from Manchester from Liverpool for £4 isn’t too shabby at all.

 

[Trackman]

Allow me to guess, last Blackpool - Liverpool train on a Saturday night after the fireworks?

I've been waiting for that to crop on the forums, not fully sure what happened so didn't post.