Rail user group representatives in the north of England attended a stakeholders conference on Thursday 16 September 2004 in York.

The event at the National Railway Museum was organised and sponsored by Arriva Trains Northern which outlined how it had performed in running train services in the area over the past 12 months.

Arriva Trains Northern's managing director Dyan Crowther said: "Our employees have done a superb job over the past 12 months in delivering further improvements for our customers. This has been achieved not by accident but through our focused business plan - with everyone playing a part in ensuring that we do things better.

"We have improved facilities across many of our stations with new shelters, ticket offices and waiting areas, and have worked with local communities through 'Adopt a Station' to keep our stations as well maintained as possible."

"We have achieved some of the highest performance levels since privatisation in
1997 - which is welcome news for customers and the rail industry."

Dyan added: "Feedback is important to any business and it is only by meeting
people and providing a platform for them to express their opinions that a
business can work to respond to the needs of its customers."

The Stakeholder Conferences are aimed primarily at organisations with an interest in the railways and are supplemented with smaller, more localised customer forums and well as regular mail updates to Arriva's stakeholders.

Information from Arriva. Kate Flint, head of media relations,
Arriva plc, on 0191 520 4106.