Northern swaps tracks for runway at launch of new uniform

Northern launch of new uniform

Northern swapped the tracks for the runway last week when staff at the rail operator took to the catwalk to launch its new uniform.

The uniform, which will be worn by all of Northern’s customer facing employees including conductors, drivers, and station teams, has been designed with a more modern look and feel. The uniform launch is part of an ongoing modernisation programme at Northern that will see 281 new carriages enter Northern’s service by 2020.

For the launch Manchester Victoria station hosted a fashion show with eight of Northern’s team members showcasing the new look.

The new uniform rollout will start on 19 September, with all employees fully kitted out by the end of November. Each member of the Northern team will be able to choose from a range of garments that include a jacket, short sleeve or long-sleeved shirt, jumper, cardigan, dress top, skirt, trousers and polo.

Daniel Edwards, Head of Customer Experience at Northern, said: “Northern is modernising to transform rail travel in the north of England. By 2020 we will have new trains, more seats, more services and an improved customer experience. Now we will have a new look for our staff to complement our modern facilities.

"The new uniform, which was designed in collaboration with staff from start to finish, will give our customer-facing colleagues a fresh look, make them easily recognisable to customers.”

Nigel Valentine, who modelled the new look at the show and also works in a Northern ticket office, said: “I am so happy I volunteered to take part in this. We have been practicing our runway walks for a couple of weeks and some dance moves were even thrown in there to entertain the crowds even more.

"The new uniform is fantastic and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to show it off to our customers in Manchester.”