Northern appoints new Managing Director under public ownership

As of 1 March 2020, Northern Trains Limited has moved into public ownership, now operated by the UK government and the Operator of Last Resort. As a result, the operating company has announced the appointment of a new Managing Director, Nick Donovan. 

Nick has a strong history within the rail industry, successfully leading the TransPennine Express (TPE) from 2011 to 2015 and acting as interim Engineering Director at Arriva Rail North in 2016. He is the independent Chair of the Network Performance Board and, for the past two years, has been advising the ScotRail Alliance on train service performance, following work on making the case for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Chairman of Northern Trains and CEO of DOHL, Robin Gisby, said: “Nick’s widespread experience, leadership of TPE and his role as Chair of the industry’s National Performance Board has given him a first-class insight into all the issues and challenges that we face, not just as Northern but for all operators across the Northern region. Given the current circumstances and environment we are operating in, I am very confident that Nick is the right person to lead the business going forward. Our priority over the coming weeks will be to stabilise performance whilst continuing to deliver existing projects including the introduction of new trains. Over the next 100 days, we will push forward with a widespread review of the business and its operations to ensure that we can and will deliver the improvements that Northern’s passengers deserve.”

Robin added: “David Brown has faced some very difficult challenges during his time leading the Northern business. I have now asked David to move across to our holding company, where we can explore other senior level opportunities and retain his skills and experience. We should all take this opportunity to acknowledge David’s significant contribution to the Northern Franchise over the last two and a half years.”