Northern Rail has announced it will shake up its divisions in a bid to transform rail travel in the North.

The rail operator unveiled a restructuring of its services that will see the creation of four new business regions.

The regional centres will be created in Newcastle, Preston, Manchester and Leeds, where regional directors are to deliver a wide scope of changes.

These changes were announced in April as part of Arriva’s new Northern franchise launch and will launch at the start of next month.

The biggest division will be its East division, which will be based in Leeds and will include a region that is bordered by Todmorden, Nottingham, Armathwaite and Hull. Paul Barnfield will be in charge of leading this division.

Meanwhile, its Central division will be based in Manchester, managed by Liam Sumpter, and will incorporate the areas of Buxton, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe, Clitheroe and Colne.

The North-East division shall be based in Newcastle, led by Mike Paterson, and will cover the areas of Whitby, Carlisle, Teesside Airport and Chathill.

The fourth division is based in Liverpool and covers the West, specifically areas including Blackpool, the Cumbrian coast and Ellesmere Port. The regional director of this branch will be Sharon Keith, who will conduct her work from the new office in Preston.

Northern Rail’s Managing Director, Alex Hynes, said that the company’s new franchise will be driven by this regional system.

He said that the divisions will be crucial to the company’s transformation by bringing the service and staff closer to the customers and communities who use its services.

Mr Hynes added that the leaders of the centres will use their expert knowledge of local transport opportunities and customer requirements to construct rail services that will provide the best possible service for their given region.

Arriva Rail secured the £1.2 billion deal for the Northern franchise at the end of last year.