Northern has revealed that it is planning to buy up to 450 trains, but it has not confirmed how they will paid for.

The acquisition is set to be managed in three phases, the first of which will include about 130 trains. Northern invited final tenders from manufacturers in November, and these must be lodged next month. Northern said it is aiming to award the contracts by early 2027, with the first trains arriving in 2030.

The operator has been nationalised since 2020, and unlike the former franchise it has an indefinite life until it is absorbed by Great British Railways.

The rolling stock leasing companies were set up as part of privatisation in the early 1990s so that franchise holders could acquire new trains without investing in assets with a life of 30 to 40 years.

The longest franchise ever awarded was to Chiltern Railways, which signed a 20-year contract in 2001. The others were only granted for up to 15 years or so, although seven to 10 years was more usual.

The ROSCos are not part of the renationalisation programme, partly because a forced takeover by the state would be very expensive, but there is no obligation on the part of GBR to continue using them for fresh acquisitions.

Northern’s rolling stock plans have been drawn up by James Howard, who first joined Northern in 2011 as a business analyst and auditor. He moved to Stagecoach in 2016 and spent two years with the company’s rail franchise bidding team, but returned to Northern in 2018, shortly after the operator had purchased 101 trains as part of a £500 million investment backed by the government.

Since 2020, when Northern was renationalised, he has been involved in developing the operator's new rolling stock strategy, and was recently appointed as Northern’s director of new rolling stock programmes.

Northern’s present fleet comprises 11 types of unit. Most of them were built in the 1980s or 1990s, and the operator is proposing to replace two thirds within the next decade, with the oldest being retired first.

The new trains will be fully electric, battery powered or multi-modal. Around 25 per cent of the operator’s network is currently electrified but there are plans to electrify more lines in the coming years as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade and then Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The first of the new trains are expected to enter service on routes like York-Leeds-Huddersfield.

James Howard said: ‘This will be a step change for the North. It will be the largest ever investment in our fleet, providing our customers with modern, reliable trains, and we are working to deliver them as quickly as possible.

‘Getting to this point hasn’t been easy but that only fuels our desire to see it through. I fundamentally believe Northern needs these new trains and our customers deserve them.

‘There has been significant investment in the infrastructure, with projects like the Transpennine Route Upgrade, and we need modern trains to realise the benefits.’

There are unlikely to be as many as 11 different types in future, because so many different designs complicate maintenance and staff training.

Railnews asked Northern if using rolling stock companies had been ruled out. It responded: ‘We are engaging with financiers, including rolling stock companies, to achieve the best value for money.’

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