Serco-NedRailways Partnership Wins
Britain’s Biggest Franchise

For further information please contact:
Serco-NedRailways
Brian Bennett
+44 (0) 7718 193 934
Antoinette Wieman
+31 (0) 30 235 4642


A copy of our press release welcoming this news
is available here


Press Pack
Enclosed within this section is information relating to Serco-NedRailways' appointment as the train operating company for the Northern rail franchise.

Serco-NedRailways, one of Britain’s best-performing train operators, today signed the contract to run the country’s largest rail network,
 the new Northern Rail franchise for up to 8¾ years with a start date of 12 December 2004.

Today’s announcement marks a further step in a new era for the franchising process, which has seen the introduction of a new standard Franchise Agreement that will provide high performance and standards for customers. As part of the franchise award, the Serco-NedRailways’ joint venture has given a commitment to year on year improvement in train punctuality and performance throughout the life of the franchise. Other features include:

• The appointment of four Area Directors to ensure close contact between regional stakeholders, local communities and the planning and delivery of the train services;
• The commitment to deliver best practice from Serco’s and Dutch Railways’ operations, with a particular focus on train maintenance and customer service;
• Modernised ticketing arrangements and improved facilities for buying tickets;
• Establishing a bicycle users forum to promote greater use of bicycles by train passengers;
• The introduction, in conjunction with South and West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executives, of a new service between Leeds and Sheffield via Barnsley to provide a much-improved service for commuters and visitors to these key Yorkshire places.

Brian Burdsall, Chairman of the new operating company for the Northern Rail franchise, commented:
“We have been very fortunate in securing a franchise that already contains a dedicated and professional workforce. From today our priority is to open discussions with the current managers, staff and trade union representatives to ensure we deliver a truly unique and first class service to all our customers and employees.”

The Serco-NedRailways joint venture already operates Merseyrail, the highly successful partnership with the Merseyside PTE, which is recognised as one of the most efficient and punctual franchises in the UK.

The Serco-NedRailways joint venture draws on a unique combination of public sector delivery skills and heavy rail operational experience that will bring a new approach to running this important network. The partnership will now work closely with the staff, managers, unions and the SRA to finalise the arrangements for the transfer of the current operations to the new franchise.