Northern to offer families tasty food and cheap train fares this summer

Staff are handing out hundreds of free portions of chips at The Town Fryer in Carlisle today (23 July). There will be another giveaway at The Chip Shop in Manchester on 30 July.

At the beginning of the school holidays, they’ll also be showing customers they can buy cheap tickets to dozens of destinations in the North of England when they book in advance.

Adults travelling from Manchester Piccadilly can get to Chester for as little as £2.70, Buxton for £3, Oxenholme Lake District for £4.40 or Blackpool Pleasure Beach for £5.50.

Those setting off from Carlisle can travel to Haltwhistle for as little as £1.90, Maryport for £2, Whitehaven for £2.20 or Hexham for £3.

There are cheap tickets on offer on a range of other routes and discounts available to passengers with Railcards. Children between the ages of 5 and 15 travel for half price and under 5s travel for free.

Northern will be working to promote affordable fares over the summer and supporting local independent chip shops. After the takeovers, it will be handing out free fish and chips to passengers on some services running to seaside towns.

Alex Hornby, Northern’s Commercial and Customer Director, said: “We want to show people they can take a trip to some fantastic destinations this summer without breaking the bank, as we’re offering a range of tickets that are cheap as chips.

“Our campaign does exactly that while supporting a great northern institution.

“With so many destinations across the north, customers can make the most of the Great British summer. They can travel to the coast for a day at the beach, head into a major city for some shopping or get out into the countryside to enjoy the great outdoors.

“We’d encourage anyone planning a trip this summer to book in advance if they’re looking for the lowest fare.”

The average cost of cod and chips in the UK is £11.41 and the average price of chips is £3.84, according to a report published by industry body Seafish earlier this year.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.