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First North Western
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Franchise(s): | North West Regional Railways 2. March 1997 – 12. December 2004 |
| Main region(s): | North West |
| Other region(s): | North Wales, London, 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] A subsidiary of First Group, it lost its franchise in 2004.
The company when first privatised was known as North Western Trains and was owned by Great Western Trains, which was a partnership between Great Western's management and First Group. Eventually First bought the management team out and renamed the company. 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.
Their headquarters were in Whitworth St, Manchester city centre. Its train depot was at Newton Heath, between the Caldervale Line and the Oldham Loop Line.
First North Western services are now mainly operated by Northern Rail with Manchester Airport to Barrow services are now operated by First TransPennine Express. Transpennine Express also took over the Manchester Airport to Windermere service, but made the service infrequent as of 8th December 2007. Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno, Crewe to Holyhead, Bidston to Wrexham and Llandudno to Ffestiniog services operated by Arriva Trains Wales and Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston services operated by Virgin Trains.
The new Class 175 trains were used mainly on 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. However 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 |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 6 | 1956 - 1959 |
| Class 142 Pacer |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 79 | 1985 - 1987 |
| Class 150 Sprinter |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 27 | 1985 - 1987 |
| Class 153 Super Sprinter |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 8 | 1987 - 1988 |
| Class 156 Super Sprinter |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 18 | 1987 - 1989 |
| Class 158 Express Sprinter |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 90 | 145 | 8 | 1989 - 1992 |
| Class 175 Coradia |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 100 | 160 | 27 | 1999 - 2001 |
| Class 322 |  |
Electric multiple unit | 100 | 160 | 4 | 1990 |
| Class 323 |  |
Electric multiple unit | 100 | 160 | 17 | 1992 - 1993 |
| 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 |
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| InterCity: | |
| Regional: |
Arriva Trains Merseyside · Arriva Trains Northern · Central Trains1 · First North Western · Merseyrail Electrics · Northern Spirit · ScotRail · Valley Lines · Wales and Borders · Wales and West · Wessex Trains |
| London and South East: | |
| *1 Including Central Citylink *2 Now a sub-brand of South West Trains *3 including Silverlink County & Silverlink Metro ▲ Current • Prospective ► |
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