Train operator Northern has appointed a new director, who will be responsible for delivering up to 450 new trains.

James Howard has been named as Northern’s Director of New Rolling Stock Programmes, and will be in charge of Northern’s programme to introduce hundreds of new trains. This will be Northern’s largest-ever investment in its fleet, with a total of 450 trains, including 130 trains in the first phase.

Tenders for the new trains were opened last November, with submissions due next month, contracts awarded by early 2027, and the first trains to be delivered in 2030.

The new trains will replace the company’s oldest units, most now up to 40-years old, and will be introduced on a phased basis; Northern plans to replace two-thirds of its existing fleet over the next 10 years.

The business case for the new trains must first be approved by the government, and over the last few years, James Howard has played a key role in developing the plans for their introduction. The choice of new trains will be both rigorous and selective to avoid introducing a wide range of different types to Northern’s fleet.

James joined Northern in 2011 as a business analyst and auditor, then in 2016 he joined Stagecoach, spending two years with its rail franchise bid team, before returning to Northern in 2018, shortly after it purchased 101 new trains.

Since 2020, James has been involved in developing a new rolling stock strategy for Northern as it currently operates 11 different types of trains, with the consequent issues around the training and experience required for the traincrews and engineers who work on each type.

To maximise environmental benefits and flexibility, the new trains will be fully electric, battery-powered, or multi-modal. This provides Northern with the flexibility. Approximately 25% of Northern’s network is currently electrified, and more lines are planned for electrification in the coming years.

The new trains will be introduced first on electrified lines, including between York, Leeds, and Huddersfield, followed in the early 2030s by the replacement of the oldest trains on Northern’s network. A focus for James and his team will be the improvement of level boarding, by ensuring carriages conform to the network standard at both current platforms and any that may later be upgraded or modified.

Last year, more passengers travelled on Northern than in any year since the pandemic, and recently launched a new advert to encourage more people to travel by train instead of cars.

“This will be a step change for the North,” he said. “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.”

James Howard