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| Franchise(s): | Cross Country 11 November 2007 – 1 April 2016 |
| Main route(s): | |
| Fleet size: | 29 Turbostars 34 Voyagers 23 Super Voyagers 5 High Speed Trains (4 in use) |
| Stations called at: | 100 |
| Stations operated: | 0 |
| Passenger km 2007/8: | 1136.6 million |
| Route km operated: | 2661.9 |
| National Rail abbreviation: | XC |
| Parent company: | Arriva plc |
| Web site: | www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/ |
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.
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The CrossCountry franchise 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,[1] with the company taking control on 11 November 2007.
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 expresses.
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.
The hourly service operates on each basic route:
| No | Route | Rolling stock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth to Edinburgh Waverley (via Leeds) | (Super) Voyagers & HSTs | |
| 2 | Reading to Newcastle (via Doncaster) | (Super) Voyagers | |
| 3 | Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly | (Super) Voyagers | |
| 4 | Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly (via Coventry) | (Super) Voyagers | |
| 5 | Cardiff Central to Nottingham (via Birmingham New Street) | Turbostars | |
| 6 | Birmingham New Street to Leicester and Stansted Airport | Turbostars | |
There are extensions to the basic service pattern:
On Summer Saturdays, there are trains to Newquay from various parts of the network.
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:
All of the services operated via the West Coast Mainline 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 Reading.[2]
Plans were included by CrossCountry to reopen the railway station at Kenilworth. In April 2008, they agreed with Warwickshire county council to draw up a business case[3].
There are proposals for a station at Worcester (Norton) Parkway near the city of Worcester, which is currently by-passed 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 Cross Country services go through from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Carstairs, replacing the services currently provided by East Coast Trains [4]
Furthermore CrossCountry wish to extend their Birmingham New Street to Leicester services to Cambridge.[5] Also the operator has ambitions to increase frequency on its Bournemouth to Reading route to every 30 minutes by extending its Reading to Newcastle service to Bournemouth.[6]
Although CrossCountry doesn't manage any stations the following stations are only served by Cross Country and are managed by London Midland or East Midlands Trains:
Latest performance figures released by the ORR rate the new operator somewhat better than their predecessor with a PPM of 91.8%[7] over the second quarter of the 2009/10 financial year and a Monthly Annual Average (MAA) up to 30 September 2009 of 91.8%.
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 has left the company struggling to accommodate peak loads on popular services or the ongoing growth in passenger numbers.[8] It also led to the withdrawal of services from previously-served destinations such as Poole[9] as the company concentrated its rolling stock on its core network.
The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority refused to underwrite the cost of Virgin Trains ordering additional rolling stock. CrossCountry has since added five refurbished high speed train set to its fleet. The removal of on-board shops to create additional luggage space has attracted criticism from passengers and MPs in the Westcountry.[10][11]
Virgin CrossCountry previously operated the Class 220 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 are undergoing refurbishment at Bombardier, Derby. This includes removing the shop and adding extra luggage space. The refurbishment was completed in August 2009.
The first CrossCountry-liveried HST powercar was released from its overhaul at Brush Traction, 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 is on loan to East Coast for 2 Months til the end of March. From the December 2009 timetable change the number of weekday HST diagrams was reduced, from 4 to 2 (3 on Mondays/Fridays).
 The Interior of the Mark 3 First Class coach |
 Refurbished Mark 3 Trailer Standard vehicle No. 42290 |
 The interior of Standard Class aboard the Mark 3 TS vehicle |
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||
| Class 43 High Speed Train |  |
Diesel locomotive | 125 | 200 | 10 (2 on loan to East Coast) | 1976–1982 |
| Mark 3 Coach |  |
Passenger coach | 125 | 200 | 40 (5 Stored/7 on loan to EC) | 1975–1988 |
| Class 170 Turbostar |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 100 | 160 | 29 | 1999–2002 |
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| Class 220 Voyager |  |
Diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 34 | 2001 |
| Class 221 Super Voyager |  |
Diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 23 | 2001 |
| Preceded by Central Trains Central franchise |
Operator of Cross Country franchise 2007 - present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Virgin Trains Cross Country franchise |
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Redirecting to CrossCountry
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