Northern rail to be controlled by government from March

The route from Scarborough station to Hull, which passes through Filey, Hunmanby, Bridlington, Driffield and Beverley, will therefore be managed by the government.

Ownership of Northern rail operations will be transferred from Arriva Rail North to Northern Trains Limited, a subsidiary of DfT OLR Holdings Limited (DOHL) on March 1.

DOHL was established by the UK Government’s Department for Transport to fulfil the Secretary of State for Transport’s requirements under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 – which places a duty on the Secretary of State for Transport to continue to provide rail services if a franchise is terminated.

It is led by the same team that managed the transfer of Virgin Trains East Coast into public ownership to become LNER in 2018.

The Department for Transport has said passenger journeys will not be affected and all tickets will still be valid.

In a statement DfT OLR Holdings said: "Our initial focus will be to ensure a smooth transition, stabilise performance and restore reliability for customers.

"Over the next few weeks, services will continue to run and customers should continue to purchase tickets in the usual way.

"We are continuing to work with all other train companies, as well as third parties, such as online ticket retailers.

"Therefore, tickets purchased for journeys using multiple train companies will still be valid. Further announcements will be made when the transfer is complete."