Northern: new COO appointment marks beginning of reshuffle

Northern is to appoint Matt Rice as its new chief operating officer. Rice is currently a route director for the north and east route of Network Rail. His new role with Northern will see him take responsibility for its service and engineering functions across the North of England, with the objective of delivering a stable and reliable service for customers.

New data from Claims.co.uk shows that between 2018 and 2022, Northern suffered a 4.44% rate of service cancellations, with just 63.9% of its services arriving on schedule.

Commenting on his appointment, Matt Rice says he wants to deliver for customers across the region, adding, "I have spent my career focused on making things better and am committed to delivering great rail services for people across the North of England."

Rice will succeed Tricia Williams later this spring, Northern's outgoing chief operating officer, who in August 2023 was announced as its new managing director. Williams has been Northern's COO for three years, and will replace outgoing Nick Donovan in the spring.