THE transfer of Arriva's Northern Rail franchise into the government's hands will not involve a rebrand as work to repair the failed franchise begins, the firm has confirmed.

On Monday (March 2), Northern Trains said the rebranding of its 386-strong fleet of trains across the North would not yet happen as it instead worked to "prioritise" its turnaround plan.

In previous cases when a train operating company hands its franchise back to the government, ahead of the takeover thousands of pounds have been invested into a new look.

In recent years, both East Coast and LNER have been the fresh identities of the government-run firms following the failures of National Express and Virgin Trains.

However, confirming there were no immediate plans to rebrand the identity left by Arriva, a spokesperson for Northern Trains said: "We believe our first priority should be to restore stability and to work collaboratively with stakeholders and customers on these decisions.

"Ultimately, we want the Northern franchise to be rooted in its communities and become a railway of the people, for the people. Decisions on the branding and name of Northern will be taken collaboratively at the appropriate time."

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who is on the panel of leaders from the North - which will devise a turnaround plan - yesterday said a priority to restore the franchise would take precedence.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Just because the government now owns it, it doesn't mean it's going to work on day one.

"The biggest challenge we now face is how do we make sure that all of the trains timetabled are delivered and run on time so there aren't cancellations.

"Just getting a train set that actually works and one that doesn't involve Pacer trains has to be the target in the first 100 days."

The government said a "deep clean" programme would be taking place in the coming days on all of its Northern Trains fleet.

Ahead of the takeover on Sunday, Northern Trains Limited chairman, Richard George said: “The panel announced today will play a crucial strategic role as we look to transform services across Northern’s network, putting the needs of passengers first.

“By collaborating with local leaders, we’re taking a step towards reconnecting the railways with the people of the North. We need to improve performance and also provide passengers and their elected representatives with the confidence that their concerns are being addressed.”