Northern launches all-new fleet for Lakes Line

Cumbria was the first region in the North to receive Northern’s new trains and now seven of the state-of-the-art fleet will connect Windermere, Barrow and Manchester Airport.

Tim Farron, Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale, joined Northern at Windermere station on Wednesday 21 August to wave off one of the new trains serving customers on the famous Lakes Line.

Tim said: “It is great to see these brand new trains now serving Windermere and the Lakes Line. After the problems of 2018, I’m hopeful these brand new trains will deliver local people and businesses a big improvement in their rail services. 

“Given the fantastic response of local residents to our cross community campaigns over the past year, I’m delighted that Cumbria has been chosen as one of the first places for these brand new trains, supporting local businesses and families and encouraging more people to visit the Lake District by train.”

These new diesel trains (Class 195s) feature free Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, at-seat power and customer information/media screens with real-time information. They are also more spacious for customers and are fully accessible with spaces for wheel chairs and cycles.

Northern has ordered 101 new trains as part of a £500m investment in rail in the North. There are already 15 trains operating on a number of routes and more will follow throughout 2019 and into 2020.

David Brown, Northern’s Managing Director said: “The Northern network is busier than it has been for a generation – more than 100 million customer journeys will be made on Northern services in 2019 – and the introduction of new trains is at the heart of our transformation for customers.

“We are delighted therefore that customers travelling between Windermere, Oxenholme and Manchester Airport will now be served by brand new trains every hour.

“These fantastic trains are a true step-change in travelling experience and we are extremely proud to be delivering a £500m investment.

“We now have 15 brand new trains carrying customers, with more to come throughout 2019 and into 2020.”

The new trains have been funded by Eversholt Rail Group and are built in Spain and in Wales by train manufacturer CAF.

Northern’s new trains are part of the largest modernisation programme in a generation that is transforming travel in the north of England. It is currently fully refurbishing its existing fleet of 243 trains, improving its stations and has introduced more than 2,000 extra services every week since 2016.

Northern is also committed to great customer value and has this week launched an online “flash sale”.  80,000 10p tickets are now available to those using Northern’s services and booking in advance via northernrailway.co.uk/sale. Plus kids travel half price, so the youngest customers can enjoy trips out for just 5p. Tickets can be bought in advance and have been available since Monday 19 August. Travel must take place between 1 – 30 September.

Nearly 16 million visitors travel to the Lake District every year. In partnership with Cumbria Tourism, Northern recently ran a campaign to encourage as many people to travel by train as possible. Northern offered 50% off Advance Purchase tickets on the Lakes Line route in June and July and saw an increase in ticket sales of 72%.