New regional director for Northern in the North West

He takes over from today (Monday, 29 May), replacing Chris Jackson, who is heading to TransPennine Express as interim managing director.

Harrop, who was born in Blackpool and lives in Manchester, was previously the head of trains and stations for Northern across Lancashire, Merseyside and Cumbria.

He joined the rail industry in 1991 working for British Rail, before further developing his career through the senior management training scheme in 2002.

His progression at Northern has seen him undertake a number of roles across operations and stakeholder relations, including depot manager, area traincrew manager, operations delivery manager and client & stakeholder manager.

In 2017 and 2018 he was interim community & sustainability director and regional director respectively, before taking up the position of head of trains and stations for Lancashire, Merseyside and Cumbria in 2019.

Commenting on his appointment, Craig Harrop said: “I’m delighted to take on this new role, representing Northern in the region I have always called home.

“I am very proud of the career progression I have made within this organisation, which I think is a great example of the development opportunities that exist within the rail industry.”

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “Craig is Northern ‘through and through’ and I can’t think of anyone better to lead our operations across the North West.

“He has a deep rooted knowledge and understanding of the issues we face and I know he will be a great ambassador for us in the region.”

Commenting on the departure of Chris Jackson, Williams added: “Chris made a huge contribution to Northern over his many years of service. He is a respected figure in the rail industry and will bring passion, enthusiasm and expertise to the TransPennine Express team.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.