New era of train travel for Halifax and Calder Valley

This week, new trains started operating between Leeds and Chester via the Calder Valley.

Nine new Class 195 trains will offer passengers a first-class, spacious journey, featuring free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and an improved seat reservation system.

David Brown, Northern’s Managing Director, said: “The new trains are a step-change in quality and it’s fantastic to see the operating through Cheshire, Greater Manchester and into West Yorkshire.

NORTHERN: Cllr Kim Groves unveils the new train name, helped by (l-r) David Brown - Northern's Managing Director, Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw of WYCA , Hilary Tysoe - HR Director at Arriva and Steve Hopkinson - Regional Director at Northern.

“Our new trains represent a £500m investment in rail in the north and are part of our wider improvement plan, seeing all other trains fully refurbished, Pacers retired, and improvements at stations across the network.”

The first train set off from Calder Valley on Monday, a launch marked with the naming of one of the new trains for the route – Calder Champion.

Northern now have 29 new trains on routes across the north of England and expect to introduce a total of 101 new trains by 2020.

Throughout the process, Northern have involved drivers throughout with consultation programmes, resulting with the control system designed to their specification.

A spokesperson from Northern said: “These new trains have been four years in the making.

“The trains will be greener and tick a lot of sustainability boxes.

“They will provide a much faster and smoother journey for passengers.”

Although the trains will not increase staff numbers, Northern confirmed they are now employing more staff than ever.