First North Western

In the lead up to the privatisation of British Rail, the North Western section of Regional Railways was established. For a brief period from 1989, this section was operated under the short-lived Network NorthWest brand name, before becoming North West Regional Railways. The franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to Great Western Holdings, with operations commencing on 2 March 1997 under the North Western Trains brand.

On 27 October 1997, a new livery of dark blue with a gold star was unveiled. In March 1998, FirstGroup bought out the other shareholders in Great Western Holdings. The business was rebranded from North Western Trains to First North Western in November 1998 with First's corporate blue, pink and white livery adopted.

First North Western operated a mix of urban and rural passenger services in North West England and North Wales, radiating out from Manchester to Birmingham, Chester, Holyhead, Liverpool, Blackpool North, Windermere and Sheffield.

In May 1998, North Western Trains commenced services from Manchester Airport and Rochdale to London Euston. The Manchester Airport service ceased in May 1999 and the Rochdale service in May 2000.

From May 2003, services from Manchester ceased operating south of Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe.