First North Western

First North Western
First North Western
First North Western 1.JPG
153316 at Carlisle.JPG
Franchise(s): North West Regional Railways
2. March 1997 – 12. December 2004
Main region(s): North West
Other region(s): North Wales, London, Birmingham, Yorkshire
Fleet size: 184
Stations called at: 247
Parent company: First Group

First North Western was a train operating company in the United Kingdom serving North West England.[1] It operated from 1997 to 2004.

The company when first privatised was known as North Western Trains and was owned by Great Western Holdings, a partnership between Great Western's management, First Group and 3i. North Western Trains took over from the British Rail sector North West Regional Railways, which was known for a short time as Network North West. Eventually First acquired the remaining shares and renamed the company. Their headquarters were in Whitworth St, Manchester. Its train depot was at Newton Heath, between the Caldervale Line and the Oldham Loop Line.

Contents

Routes operated

First North Western services are now mainly operated by Northern Rail with Manchester Airport to Barrow-in Furness /Blackpool North services now operated by First TransPennine Express. Transpennine Express also took over the Manchester Airport to Windermere service, but made the service infrequent as of 8 December 2007.

Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno/Holyhead, Chester to Crewe, Crewe to Holyhead, Bidston to Wrexham and Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog services are now operated by Arriva Trains Wales and the former First North Western route of Birmingham to Holyhead is now a service operated by both Arriva Trains Wales. North Western Trains also operated some services from Manchester to London for a short time. However, Virgin Trains now have competition protection on that route and now run a more frequent and faster service than previously.

Rolling stock

Most of First North Western’s rolling stock was former British Rail trains. (New operator Northern Rail still have mainly former British Rail trains.) One new trains type were built for First North Western the 175s, which have since been transferred to Arriva Trains Wales.

The Class 175 replaced the old 101s and ran the following services: Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno (also one morning journey from Chester to Manchester via Altrincham which formed a service to Llandudno when it arrived at Manchester Piccadilly), Manchester Piccadilly to Holyhead, Crewe to Holyhead, Birmingham to Holyhead, Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness, Manchester Airport to Windermere and Manchester Airport to Blackpool North. Arriva Trains Wales runs the Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno, Holyhead, and Crewe to Holyhead.

Class Image Type Top speed Number Built
mph km/h
Class 101 101692 at Arley.JPG Diesel multiple unit 75 120 6 1956–1959
Class 142 Pacer Pacer at Manchester Victoria.jpg Diesel multiple unit 75 120 79 1985–1987
Class 150 Sprinter Blaenau First.jpg Diesel multiple unit 75 120 27 1984-1987
Class 153 Super Sprinter 153316 at Carlisle.JPG Diesel multiple unit 75 120 8 1987–1988
Class 156 Super Sprinter 156427 at Carlisle.JPG Diesel multiple unit 75 120 18 1987–1989
Class 158 Express Sprinter 158751 at Westbury.JPG Diesel multiple unit 90 145 8 1989–1992
Class 175 Coradia 175111 'Brief Encounter' at Crewe.jpg Diesel multiple unit 100 160 27 1999–2001
Class 322 Stnstn.jpg Electric multiple unit 100 160 4 1990
Class 323 323225 at Manchester Piccadilly.JPG Electric multiple unit 100 160 17 1992–1993
A First North Western Class 156 at Romiley Junction station, near Manchester in the year 2001. It is in its former Regional Railways livery.

See also

References

External links

Preceded by
Regional Railways
As part of British Rail
Operator of the North West Regional Railways franchise
1997 - 2004
Succeeded by
Northern Rail
Northern franchise
Succeeded by
First TransPennine Express
TransPennine franchise
Succeeded by
Arriva Trains Wales
North Wales Coast services



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • First Great Western — Infobox rail company bgcolor=001e4c image filename=FgwNewcoloursatPAD.jpg widthpx=300px franchise=Great Western 1998 – 31 March 2006 Greater Western 1 April 2006 – 2013 logo filename=GreatWesternLogo.png nameforarea=region regions=South West… …   Wikipedia

  • North Western Railway (disambiguation) — North Western Railway is the name of: North Western Railway Zone (India) Little North Western Railway (NWR), a British railway company from 1848 to 1879 North Western Railway (fictional), the railway company featured in The Railway Series and… …   Wikipedia

  • First Great Western Link — First Great Western La First Great Western est une entreprise ferroviaire britannique qui exploite, dans le cadre d une concession attribuée au groupe First Group par la Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), le réseau du Great Western Main Line. C est… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • North Western Football Association — Founded 1894 Previous Names None. NWFA President Mr Kevin Jones Current Clubs East Ulverstone Crows Forth Magpies Motton Preston Demons Rosebery Toorak Hawks Sheffield Robins …   Wikipedia

  • North by North Western — (NXNW) Location(s) Wigan, England, United Kingdom Years active 2007 present Founded by Lupine, Wigan Arts Collective Date(s) First week of August (7 days) Genre Music, Art, Poetry, Film Websi …   Wikipedia

  • North Western Road Car Company (1986) — This article is about the second company to bear this name from 1986 1998 which was based in Liverpool, England. For the original company (1923 1974), based in Stockport, England, see North Western Road Car Company (1923). The North Western Road… …   Wikipedia

  • North Western Railway (fictional) — For articles about real railway companies named North Western Railway, see North Western Railway (disambiguation). A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge) …   Wikipedia

  • First Great Western Link — Infobox Rail companies bgcolor=FFFFFF image filename=166217 at Reading.jpg widthpx=300px franchise=Thames April 2004 31. March 2006 logo filename=FGWLinklogo.gif nameforarea=Region regions=Thames Valley secregions=North Downs, Cotswolds fleet=62… …   Wikipedia

  • North-Western Italian architecture — Architecture of Italy Perio …   Wikipedia

  • North-Western Territory — This article is about an early territory of British North America. For the 19th century U.S. territory, see Northwest Territory. For the modern Canadian territory, see Northwest Territories. For other geographical names that use the term… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”