TRAIN operator Northern is hailing the success of its WhatsApp service.

Since the initiative was launched a year ago, 8,000 customer messages have been received.

Passengers can use the system for details of train times, service updates and any disruption, plus information relating to ground transport connections, such as taxi companies.

Northern, which runs trains on the Airedale line, says the AI-operated service has freed-up more than 1,000 hours of employee time.

Mark Powles, the company's commercial and customer director, says: "We launched our WhatsApp service to simplify the process of getting live train information to customers ‘on the go’. Because it functions entirely on AI, it's available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

"By answering thousands of basic questions for us in the blink of an eye, it frees-up time that our customer experience centre can instead dedicate to the more in-depth, complex enquiries we receive.

"The service was trialled with focus groups prior to going live and continues to evolve.

"We hope to further develop the system this year so that users can ask any question you can find the answer to on our website via WhatsApp instead."

To use the WhatsApp service, message 07870 606060.