Member Article

Serco to continue Northern Rail operations

Serco and its Dutch partner Abellio will continue to run the Northern Rail franchise after signing a further 22-month agreement with the Department for Transport.

The firm estimates to generate £520 million revenue for itself over the 22-month period, however the firm said it was expected to run at a lower profit margin than the current franchise.

The deal has been co-signed by all five North of England Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) and will see Northern Rail Ltd continue to operate local and regional rail services across the North of England.

David Stretch, Serco’s managing director for Transport Services, said: “Serco has a strong track record of providing high quality rail services in the UK and internationally.

“We are delighted that the strong performance of our partnership with Abellio, and focus on doing the right thing for our passengers, has been recognised with the award of this new contract.

“This is down to the commitment of our team at Northern Rail who work tirelessly to provide an excellent standard of service across the north of England.

“We look forward to continuing to work alongside Abellio, the PTEs and other regional stakeholders to help drive improvements and greater efficiencies - benefiting both our fare-paying passengers and the taxpayer.”

Serco’s reputation has suffered following the scandal surrounding the electronic tagging of criminals it carried out with G4S.

Northern runs a mix of commuter rural and some longer distance services around Cheshire, County Durham,Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland, Teesside, Tyne and Wear and Yorkshire.

Services also extend to the Midland counties of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .