A new managing director has been appointed at Northern.

Tricia Williams, currently Northern’s chief operating officer, will take over the role from Nick Donovan who is due to step down in spring next year.

Donovan joined the train operating company in March 2020 as the business moved into public ownership under DOHL and will have spent four years running the UK’s second largest train operator.

DOHL – which stands for Department for Transport Operator of Last Resort – is the company owned by DfT and takes control of a railway franchise when the train operating company (TOC) is no longer able to do so. At present, Northern runs 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

During Donovan’s time at the head of the company, the operator has been recognised by YouGov as one of the UK’s top ten most improved brands for two years running.

The train operator has also received a number of accreditations and awards for improvement across the business.  These include Investors in People Gold, the Institute of Customer Service, digital, innovation as well as many more awards.

The recruitment process to replace Tricia Williams will begin shortly.

Nick Donovan said: “It is a huge privilege to have had the opportunity to lead Northern – a real highlight of my career – and now feels like the right time to hand over to someone else. We have a brilliant leadership team in place and I’m so pleased that our current chief operating officer will take over from me in the spring. Tricia is a fantastic leader and I know she’ll continue to transform this business, making a positive impact for the customers and communities we serve.”

Robin Gisby, chief executive of DOHL and chair of the Northern Trains Board, added: “I want to thank Nick for the incredible work he’s done to rebuild trust in Northern and get things back on track. We asked him to come for two years – and he took very little persuasion to stay for two more. I’m delighted that we have a talented successor in Tricia Williams and the Board looks forward to giving her every support.”

Tricia Williams said: “After three great years as chief operating officer, it’s an absolute honour to be taking on the managing director role. Nick has set the standard – not only for driving this business forward but also the standard for truly supportive and inclusive leadership. We know we still have big challenges ahead of us. Nick will leave us in a strong position, and the team and I are ready to continue the great work he has started.”