First North Western was a train operating company in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 serving North West England. It operated from 1997 to 2004.

The company when first privatised was known as North Western Trains and was owned by Great Western Holdings

Great Western Holdings

Great Western Holdings was a company created to bid for the Great Western rail franchise in the United Kingdom. The company consisted of 51 per cent management buyout 24.5 per cent Badgerline and 24.5 per cent 3i. The company won the Great Western franchise and operated it under the name Great...

, a partnership between Great Western's management, First Group and 3i

3i

3i Group plc is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011...

. North Western Trains took over from the British Rail sector North West Regional Railways

Regional Railways

Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1996, 3 years after privatisation. The sector was originally called Provincial....

, 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

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. Its train depot was at Newton Heath

Newton Heath

Newton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....

, between the Caldervale Line

Caldervale Line

The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool...

 and the Oldham Loop Line.

Routes operated

First North Western services are now mainly operated by Northern Rail

Northern Rail

Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

 with Manchester Airport to Barrow-in Furness /Blackpool North services now operated by First TransPennine Express

First TransPennine Express

First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...

. 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

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 to Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

 is now a service operated by both Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

. 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

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

.

The Class 175

British Rail Class 175

The Class 175 Coradia is a type of diesel multiple unit passenger train used in the United Kingdom. The fleet of 27 sets were built from 1999 to 2001 by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham. They are part of the Coradia family of trains along with the Class 180.The entire fleet is owned by the...

 replaced the old 101s and ran the following services: Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno

Llandudno

Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...

 (also one morning journey from Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 to Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 via Altrincham

Altrincham

Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...

 which formed a service to Llandudno when it arrived at Manchester Piccadilly), Manchester Piccadilly to Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

, Crewe

Crewe

Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

 to Holyhead, Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 to Holyhead, Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

, Manchester Airport to Windermere

Windermere railway station

Windermere railway station is the railway station that serves Windermere in Cumbria, England. It is just south of the A591, about 15 min walk or a short bus ride from the lake. The station is located behind a branch of the Booths supermarket chain, which occupies the site of the original station...

 and Manchester Airport to Blackpool North

Blackpool North railway station

Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....

. Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

 runs the Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno, Holyhead, and Crewe to Holyhead.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 101 British Rail Class 101 The British Rail Class 101 diesel multiple units were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath in Birmingham from 1956 to 1959, following construction of a series of prototype units. This class proved to be the most successful and longest-lived of all BR's First Generation DMUs, with the final five...		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	75	120	6	1956–1959
Class 142 Pacer British Rail Class 142 The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984....		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	75	120	79	1985–1987
Class 150 Sprinter British Rail Class 150 The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	75	120	27	1984-1987
Class 153 Super Sprinter British Rail Class 153 The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	75	120	8	1987–1988
Class 156 Super Sprinter British Rail Class 156 The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	75	120	18	1987–1989
Class 158 Express Sprinter British Rail Class 158 British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	90	145	8	1989–1992
Class 175 Coradia British Rail Class 175 The Class 175 Coradia is a type of diesel multiple unit passenger train used in the United Kingdom. The fleet of 27 sets were built from 1999 to 2001 by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham. They are part of the Coradia family of trains along with the Class 180.The entire fleet is owned by the...		Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...	100	160	27	1999–2001
Class 322 British Rail Class 322 The British Rail Class 322 electric multiple units were built by BREL in 1990. Five 4-car units were built for the dedicated Stansted Express service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. The units were then used by First ScotRail, operating on the North Berwick Branch Line, between /...		Electric multiple unit Electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...	100	160	4	1990
Class 323 British Rail Class 323 The British Rail Class 323 electric multiple units were built by Hunslet TPL from 1992-93. Forty-three 3-car units were built for inner-suburban services around Birmingham and Manchester...		Electric multiple unit Electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...	100	160	17	1992–1993

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