One year on from ditching chemicals from its cleaning regime, Northern hails move a ‘clean sweep’

In November 2023, the train operator announced it was switching to Clean Zero - a chemical-free cleaner created by re-engineering water in a seven-stage filtration process.

Created by the global innovator 2San, Clean Zero leaves surfaces with the same ‘Ultra Clean’ cleanliness score required for food preparation settings and medical operating theatres. 

One year on and with 32 special Clean Zero units plumbed-in at locations across its network, Northern has used 9,000 fewer single-use plastic bottles, removed 14 hazardous chemicals from its cleaning toolkit and saved thousands of pounds it used to spend on certain cleaning products.

Richard Holt, head of train presentation at Northern, said: “We’re really pleased with the results we’ve seen in the first year since switching to Clean Zero - not just in terms of the standard of cleanliness on our trains, but also the reduction in waste, the removal of chemicals from the cleaning process and the cost savings. All in all - a clean sweep all round.”

Northern carries out train cleaning duties at 42 locations on its network, including four main TrainCare Centres at Allerton (Merseyside), Newton Heath (Grater Manchester), Heaton (Tyne & Wear) and Neville Hill (West Yorkshire).

Each year, Northern’s train presentation teams carry out 695,000 ‘carriage cleans’ and work their way through 32,759 microfibre cloths and 10,300 sponges. They also replenish some 26 million pieces of toilet tissue and 778 litres of hand soap.

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