CrossCountry
Encyclopedia
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company
owned by Arriva
. The company operates a network of express and long-distance train services between a variety of towns and cities outside London which includes Britain's longest direct railway journey, the 08:20 from Aberdeen
to Penzance
which takes 13 hours and 23 minutes to complete.
was formed through the amalgamation of most of the former Cross Country franchise held by Virgin Trains
with some of the longer-distance routes operated by Midlands-based Central Trains
. On 10 July 2007, the Department for Transport
announced that Arriva plc
had won the rights to the franchise, with the company taking control on 11 November 2007.
Unlike most other franchise operators in Great Britain, CrossCountry does not manage any stations, even though there are certain stations served by no operator other than CrossCountry.
On Summer Saturdays, there are trains to Newquay
from various parts of the network.
by the previous Cross Country franchisee, Virgin Trains
, passed to other operators: trains between Manchester and Scotland transferred to First Transpennine Express
, while trains between Birmingham and Glasgow became part of an enlarged West Coast franchise operated by Virgin Trains
.
The tender for the franchise did not include retaining services south east of Guildford
to Brighton
and Gatwick Airport and all such services ceased on 13 December 2008. Passengers for Gatwick Airport now have to use connecting services from .
. In April 2008, it agreed with Warwickshire
county council to draw up a business case.
There are proposals for a station at Worcester (Norton) Parkway, near the city of Worcester
, currently bypassed by CrossCountry's trains. If this station is built, then it may be served by CrossCountry services.
There are talks taking place that may see CrossCountry services go through from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Carstairs, replacing the services currently provided by East Coast Trains.
From December 2010, some trains were extended from Reading to Southampton Central on the route to and from Newcastle.
, East Midlands Trains
or National Express East Anglia:
The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority
refused to underwrite the cost for Virgin Trains to order additional rolling stock. CrossCountry has since added five refurbished HST
sets to its fleet. The removal of on-board shops to create additional luggage space has attracted criticism from passengers and MPs in the Westcountry. The removal of bays of seating around tables and the addition of more seats with reduced legroom has been criticised, after Arriva promised to increase the seating capacity
of their trains, which was believed to refer to lengthening of the trains themselves.
CrossCountry was also criticised for introducing the first £1,000 fare in Britain in November 2009, for a first-class
return between and . A little over a year earlier, the same fare had cost under £500. Commentators noted that CrossCountry was charging over £100 for the trip between and Newquay, even though the trains operating it have no first-class compartments, and First Great Western
, which operates the service, charges as little as £3.90 for a day's unlimited travel on the line.
and Class 221
DEMUs. Twenty-one Class 221 units have been transferred to the Virgin West Coast
franchise to operate the North Wales route
and the West Midlands
to Scotland services. CrossCountry also use Class 170 Turbostars inherited from Central Trains
. Class 220s and 221s underwent refurbishment at Bombardier
, Derby. This included removing the shop and adding extra luggage space. The refurbishment was completed in August 2009.
, Loughborough
on 16 July 2008. To identify its fleet, CrossCountry is renumbering all of its HST units by adding an extra 200 to the old number, the newly repainted HST being 43301 (originally 43101). 43301 had to be completely rebuilt by Brush Traction
, as it has been out of service for more than 5 years. As a standard, CrossCountry is installing MTU Friedrichshafen
engines to replace the old Paxman Valenta
ones, and is repainting the units into the two-tone CrossCountry livery of grey/silver and chocolate brown. At present 5 x Mark 3 TSO's (1 out of each HST set) are currently stored and 1 set (XC01) went on loan to East Coast for 2 Months between January and March 2010. From the December 2009 timetable change the number of weekday HST diagrams was reduced, from 4 to 2 (3 on Mondays/Fridays). All HST's are currently 2+7.
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Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
owned by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
. The company operates a network of express and long-distance train services between a variety of towns and cities outside London which includes Britain's longest direct railway journey, the 08:20 from Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
to Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
which takes 13 hours and 23 minutes to complete.
Formation
The CrossCountry franchiseRail franchising in Great Britain
Rail franchising in Great Britain was created by the Railways Act 1993. Passenger services are franchised, for a limited period, to train operating companies...
was formed through the amalgamation of most of the former Cross Country franchise held by Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
with some of the longer-distance routes operated by Midlands-based Central Trains
Central Trains
Central Trains was one of the original 25 train operating companies to emerge from the break-up of British Rail between 1994 and 1997. The company operated local, urban and secondary express services across central England and Mid Wales.-Overview:...
. On 10 July 2007, the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
announced that Arriva plc
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
had won the rights to the franchise, with the company taking control on 11 November 2007.
Routes
The company operates a number of key inter-city routes outside London including the Cross Country Route from the North East to the South West, as well as a range of shorter-distance regional express services.Unlike most other franchise operators in Great Britain, CrossCountry does not manage any stations, even though there are certain stations served by no operator other than CrossCountry.
Core
The hourly service operates on each basic route:| No | Route | Rolling stock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth Plymouth railway station Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout... to Edinburgh Waverley Edinburgh Waverley railway station Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being... (via Leeds & ) |
(Super) Voyagers Bombardier Voyager family The Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:... & HSTs InterCity 125 The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the... |
|
| 2 | Reading Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames... to (via or Leeds) |
(Super) Voyagers Bombardier Voyager family The Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:... |
|
| 3 | Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads railway station Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the... to Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly station Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England... |
(Super) Voyagers Bombardier Voyager family The Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:... |
|
| 4 | Bournemouth Bournemouth railway station Bournemouth railway station, originally known as Bournemouth East and then Bournemouth Central , is the main railway station serving the town of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth... to Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly station Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England... (via Coventry Coventry railway station Coventry railway station is situated about 250 yards to the south of junction 6 of the inner ring road in the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England... ) |
(Super) Voyagers Bombardier Voyager family The Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:... |
|
| 5 | Cardiff Central Cardiff Central railway station Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08... to Nottingham (via Birmingham New Street) |
Turbostar Turbostar Turbostar is the name given to a family of diesel multiple units built by Bombardier Transportation at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, England... s |
|
| 6 | Birmingham New Street to Leicester Leicester railway station Leicester railway station serves the City of Leicester in Leicestershire, England.As of late 2009 Leicester is a Penalty fare station, a valid ticket or Permit to travel must be shown when requested.-Background:... and Stansted Airport Stansted Airport railway station Stansted Airport railway station serves London Stansted Airport in Essex, England.It is situated at the end of a short branch from the West Anglia Main Line. The branch was constructed at a cost of £44 million and opened in 1991, to coincide with the completion of the airport's new terminal building... |
Turbostar Turbostar Turbostar is the name given to a family of diesel multiple units built by Bombardier Transportation at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, England... s |
|
Extensions
There are extensions to the basic service pattern:- to PenzancePenzance railway stationPenzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington station. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
from - to , and from
- to , , and from
- to GuildfordGuildford (Surrey) railway stationGuildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
and from
On Summer Saturdays, there are trains to Newquay
Newquay railway station
Newquay railway station is the terminus of the Atlantic Coast Line that runs from Par railway station. It is operated by First Great Western and is situated close to the town centre and beaches in Newquay, Cornwall, England, UK.-History:...
from various parts of the network.
Frequency
Typically, during weekday daytimes, each of these six routes sees one CrossCountry train per hour, with the exception of Birmingham–Leicester and Birmingham–Nottingham (which each see two). These services combine to provide higher frequencies on the following sections:- Bristol to Cheltenham: 2 trains per hour
- Cheltenham to Birmingham: 3 trains per hour
- Reading to Leamington: 2 trains per hour
- Birmingham to Derby: 4 trains per hour
- Derby to Sheffield: 2 trains per hour
- York to Newcastle: 2 trains per hour
- Birmingham to Leicester: 2 trains per hour (of which one per hour carries on to Stanstead Airport).
- Birmingham to Manchester: 2 trains per hour
- Birmingham to Nottingham: 2 trains per hour
Sunday Service
Service on Sundays is slightly different from the normal core routes. The routes on Sundays are:- Plymouth to Newcastle via Doncaster (some extensions to Penzance and Edinburgh)
- Cardiff Central to Birmingham New Street
- Birmingham New Street to Nottingham
- Birmingham New Street to Manchester Piccadilly
- Reading to Edinburgh/via Birmingham and Leeds (some extensions to Glasgow Central and Aberdeen)
- Birmingham New Street to Leicester/Stansted Airport
Services withdrawn or transferred
All of the services operated via the West Coast Main LineWest Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
by the previous Cross Country franchisee, Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
, passed to other operators: trains between Manchester and Scotland transferred to First Transpennine Express
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...
, while trains between Birmingham and Glasgow became part of an enlarged West Coast franchise operated by Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
.
The tender for the franchise did not include retaining services south east of Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and Gatwick Airport and all such services ceased on 13 December 2008. Passengers for Gatwick Airport now have to use connecting services from .
Future services
Plans were included by CrossCountry to reopen the railway station at KenilworthKenilworth railway station
Kenilworth railway station on the Coventry to Leamington line was a railway station in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, opened in 1844 and closed in 1965 under the Beeching Axe, when the line was closed to passengers. Passenger services over the line restarted in the 1980s but the station was not...
. In April 2008, it agreed with Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
county council to draw up a business case.
There are proposals for a station at Worcester (Norton) Parkway, near the city of Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, currently bypassed by CrossCountry's trains. If this station is built, then it may be served by CrossCountry services.
There are talks taking place that may see CrossCountry services go through from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Carstairs, replacing the services currently provided by East Coast Trains.
From December 2010, some trains were extended from Reading to Southampton Central on the route to and from Newcastle.
Stations served only by CrossCountry
CrossCountry does not manage any stations. Following stations are served only by CrossCountry but are managed by London MidlandLondon Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
, East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
or National Express East Anglia:
| East Midlands Trains | London Midland | National Express |
|---|---|---|
Performance
Latest performance figures released by the ORR show a slight fall in punctuality this quarter (fourth quarter of 2010/2011) with a PPM of 88.7% and a Monthly Annual Average (MAA) up to 31 March 2011 of 88.2%.Criticism
Under the control of the previous franchisee, Virgin Trains, Cross Country services were increased in frequency, but using shorter trains. Intended to provide a more attractive service without reducing overall capacity, this strategy left the company struggling to accommodate peak loads on popular services or the ongoing growth in passenger numbers. It also led to the withdrawal of services from previously-served destinations such as Poole as the company concentrated its rolling stock on its core network.The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority
Strategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
refused to underwrite the cost for Virgin Trains to order additional rolling stock. CrossCountry has since added five refurbished HST
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
sets to its fleet. The removal of on-board shops to create additional luggage space has attracted criticism from passengers and MPs in the Westcountry. The removal of bays of seating around tables and the addition of more seats with reduced legroom has been criticised, after Arriva promised to increase the seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of their trains, which was believed to refer to lengthening of the trains themselves.
CrossCountry was also criticised for introducing the first £1,000 fare in Britain in November 2009, for a first-class
First class travel
First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...
return between and . A little over a year earlier, the same fare had cost under £500. Commentators noted that CrossCountry was charging over £100 for the trip between and Newquay, even though the trains operating it have no first-class compartments, and First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
, which operates the service, charges as little as £3.90 for a day's unlimited travel on the line.
Multiple-unit fleet
Virgin CrossCountry previously operated the Class 220British Rail Class 220
The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001....
and Class 221
British Rail Class 221
The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002....
DEMUs. Twenty-one Class 221 units have been transferred to the Virgin West Coast
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
franchise to operate the North Wales route
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line. The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly...
and the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
to Scotland services. CrossCountry also use Class 170 Turbostars inherited from Central Trains
Central Trains
Central Trains was one of the original 25 train operating companies to emerge from the break-up of British Rail between 1994 and 1997. The company operated local, urban and secondary express services across central England and Mid Wales.-Overview:...
. Class 220s and 221s underwent refurbishment at Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
, Derby. This included removing the shop and adding extra luggage space. The refurbishment was completed in August 2009.
HST fleet
The first CrossCountry-liveried HST powercar was released from its overhaul at Brush TractionBrush Traction
This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
, Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
on 16 July 2008. To identify its fleet, CrossCountry is renumbering all of its HST units by adding an extra 200 to the old number, the newly repainted HST being 43301 (originally 43101). 43301 had to be completely rebuilt by Brush Traction
Brush Traction
This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
, as it has been out of service for more than 5 years. As a standard, CrossCountry is installing MTU Friedrichshafen
MTU Friedrichshafen
MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909...
engines to replace the old Paxman Valenta
Paxman Valenta
The Paxman Valenta was an engine that was made by Paxman diesels for the HST , and is still in use in various marine applications, such as the Upholder/Victoria class submarine....
ones, and is repainting the units into the two-tone CrossCountry livery of grey/silver and chocolate brown. At present 5 x Mark 3 TSO's (1 out of each HST set) are currently stored and 1 set (XC01) went on loan to East Coast for 2 Months between January and March 2010. From the December 2009 timetable change the number of weekday HST diagrams was reduced, from 4 to 2 (3 on Mondays/Fridays). All HST's are currently 2+7.
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||
| Class 43 High Speed Train British Rail Class 43 (HST) The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982.... |
Diesel locomotive Diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel... |
125 | 200 | 10 | 1976–1982 | |
| Mark 3 Coach British Rail Mark 3 British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train... |
Passenger coach | 125 | 200 | 40 | 1975–1988 | |
| Class 170 Turbostar |  |
Diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:... |
100 | 160 | 29 | 1999–2002 |
| Class 220 Voyager British Rail Class 220 The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001.... |
 |
Diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 34 | 2001 |
| Class 221 Super Voyager British Rail Class 221 The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002.... |
Diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 23 | 2001 | |
External links
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