Kerry Peters has been appointed regional director for Northern in Yorkshire, Humberside and the East Midlands.
She takes up her new post at the end of the summer, when the current regional director, Tony Baxter, leaves to become operations director at Chiltern Railways. Kerry Peters, who was born in Lancashire and lives in Sherburn in Elmet in North Yorkshire, is currently the regional director for Northern in the North East. She joined the rail industry as a catering stewardess for British Rail in 1994, eventually leading the team responsible for training the on-board crew on the new Pendolino fleet.
In 2005, she moved to Virgin Cross Country as their customer service manager and later became business manager with a responsibility for the train operator’s services in Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. Joining Northern in 2017 as head of trains and stations for the North East, Peters was promoted to regional director in 2020.
In 2022, she was named on Northern Power Women’s ‘Power List’ for her work to help accelerate gender equality in the North of England. She is also a member of the Rail Delivery Group’s steering group tackling sexual harassment in the industry. Kerry Peters is married to Ian, has one child, two step-children and a six-year old grandchild.
Commenting on her new role, Kerry Peters said:
“I look forward to joining the team in Leeds and working with them to ensure Northern continues to deliver for people across the region. As a Yorkshire adoptee, it’s great to be ‘coming home’ and helping contribute to the success of the region through its rail connectivity.
“I still have a few months in the North East and will be working hard to ensure a smooth transition to my successor – who will be inheriting a great team from Carlisle on the west to Whitby in the east.”
Tricia Williams, chief operating officer for Northern said:
“We’re delighted that Kerry will be taking the helm of our operations in Yorkshire, Humberside and the East Midlands. This role is responsible for a huge section of our network and Kerry’s experience in the North East, coupled with her local knowledge, made her the ideal candidate to lead the team going forward.”
Commenting on the departure of Tony Baxter, Williams added:
“Tony has been a great ambassador for Northern in the region and his results-driven approach and relentless focus on customer service will be a huge asset to Chiltern Railways.”
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK. We provide 2,500 local and regional services every day to more than 500 stations across the North of England. In total, more than 100 million passenger journeys are made on our network each year. We employ more than 7,000 people across the length and breadth of our network. We are owned by Northern Trains Ltd, a subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s public sector owning group, ‘DOHL.’ DOHL has responsibility for two other rail companies: LNER and SE Trains (‘Southeastern’).
We have recently introduced 100 brand new trains as part of a £500 million investment in regional rail. Our aim is to offer customers ‘a better way to go’ with further improvements across the network including the renovation of station facilities, better lighting, upgraded car parks and enhanced CCTV coverage.
