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Web Site: www.gov.uk/dft

Our Ref: 278007 Mr Harry B By email to: request-640586- 24 February 2020 [email protected]

Dear Mr Harry B

Thank you for your email of 3 February 2020 to the Department for Transport about the franchise. We are responding to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request as a Treat Official correspondence, and it has been passed to the Passenger Services team for reply.

In regard to your question on branding and the future of the Northern franchise, as you are aware, in January the Secretary of State announced that the Northern franchise was no longer financially sustainable and would only be able to continue for a brief number of months. He announced on 29 January that, from 1 March 2020, the Northern franchise will be taken into public ownership and the Government will begin operating services through the public sector operator, the (OLR).

Following this decision, the immediate priority is stabilising performance and delivering the improvements for passengers in the North that they deserve. The public sector operator will concentrate on the stabilisation of performance rather than on a rebranding exercise, though ’s logos will be removed.

Furthermore, OLR officials have informed us that Limited (NTL) will be taking over Arriva Rail North’s trademarks for Northern. Some of the current assets are branded ‘by Arriva’, this element of the branding will also be removed.

Thank you once again for your email. We hope you find this reply helpful.

Yours sincerely

Correspondence Team, Passenger Services, Rail Group