Northern Trains Limited, trading as Northern, is a state-owned British train operating company that operates local services and medium-distance inter-city routes in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail North had its franchise terminated at the end of February 2020; this was amid widespread dissatisfaction over its performance, particularly in respect of poorly implemented timetable changes.