CrossCountry
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| Image:Crosscountrylogosmall.gif | |
|---|---|
| Image:Crosscountry Voyager at Birmingham New Street.jpg | |
| Franchise(s): | Cross Country 11 November 2007 – 1 April 2016 |
| Main route(s): | South West England - Birmingham - North East England - Central Scotland / Northern Scotland (selected services) Southern England - Birmingham - Manchester Cardiff and Newport - Birmingham - Nottingham Birmingham - Stansted Airport |
| Fleet size: | 34 Voyagers 23 Super Voyagers 29 Class 170s |
| Stations called at: | 100 (none operated) |
| National Rail abbreviation: | XC |
| Parent company: | Arriva plc |
| Web site: | www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/ |
CrossCountry is a train operating company that has operated Great Britain’s Cross Country rail franchise since 11 November 2007. The franchise was formed through the amalgamation of most of the former Cross Country franchise previously held by Virgin Trains (which consisted of inter-city services that do not terminate in London) with some of the longer-distance routes (including some former Central Citylink services) operated by the former Central Trains.
On 10 July 2007, the Department for Transport announced that Arriva plc had won the rights to the franchise.[1]
The franchise is unusual in that does not operate any stations, even though there are certain stations served by no operator other than CrossCountry.
Contents |
[edit] Routes
[edit] Core
The proposed hourly service from December 2008 will operate on each basic route:
| No | Route | Rolling stock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth to Edinburgh Waverley (via Leeds) | Voyagers | |
| 2 | Reading to Newcastle (via Doncaster) | Voyagers | |
| 3 | Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly | Voyagers | |
| 4 | Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly (via Coventry) | Voyagers | |
| 5 | Cardiff Central to Nottingham | Turbostars & Voyagers | |
| 6 | Birmingham New Street to Leicester and Stansted Airport | Turbostars | |
[edit] Extensions
There will also be extensions to the normal service pattern:
- to Penzance from Plymouth
- to Glasgow Central from Edinburgh Waverley
- to Aberdeen from Edinburgh Waverley
- to Cardiff Central from Bristol Temple Meads
- to Paignton from Bristol Temple Meads
- to Guildford from Reading
- to Bournemouth from Reading
Summer Saturdays will see trains to Newquay from various parts of the network.
There are also some other train services which will go from one route to another (eg. from Nottingham to Bournemouth), in order to provide more direct journeys.
[edit] 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 Birmingham: 2 trains per hour
- Cheltenham to Birmingham: 3 trains per hour
- Reading to Birmingham: 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
[edit] Rolling stock
Virgin CrossCountry previously operated the Class 220 and Class 221 DEMUs. From December 2007, 21 Class 221 units will be transferred to the Virgin West Coast franchise where they will operate the North Wales route and the West Midlands to Scotland services. CrossCountry also use British Rail Class 170 Turbostars inherited from Central Trains. In addition, the company has announced that they will re-introduce five upgraded High Speed Trains[2], principally for use on Plymouth-Edinburgh services. These are currently undergoing refurbishment at Brush Traction in Leicestershire, and are expected to enter service in mid to late 2008.
[edit] Current fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Unit numbers | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| Class 170 Turbostar | Image:Crosscountry 170 at Birmingham New Street.jpg | Diesel multiple unit | 100 | 160 | 29 | 170101-170117 170397-170398 170518-170523 170636-170639 | Cardiff–Nottingham Birmingham–Stansted Airport | 1999–2002 |
| Class 220 Voyager | Image:Crosscountry Voyager at Birmingham New Street.jpg | Diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 34 | 220001-220034 | Cross Country Route | 2001 |
| Class 221 Super Voyager | Image:Virgin Voyager 221113 2005-06-09 01.jpg | Diesel-electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | 28 | 221118-221141 | Cross Country Route | 2001 |
[edit] Future fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| Class 43 High Speed Train | Image:43300 at Kings Cross.jpg | Diesel locomotive | 125 | 200 | 10 | Cross Country Route | 1976 - 1982 | Late 2008 |
| Mark 3 coach | Image:Mark3gner.jpg | Passenger coach | 125 | 200 | 40 | Cross Country Route | 1975 - 1988 | Late 2008 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Central Trains Central franchise | Operator of Cross Country franchise 2007 - present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by Virgin Trains Cross Country franchise |
Current train operating companies in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| ◄ Defunct • Future ► | |
| National: | Arriva Trains Wales · c2c · Chiltern Railways · CrossCountry · East Midlands Trains · First Capital Connect · First Great Western · First ScotRail · First TransPennine Express · Gatwick Express · Grand Central · Heathrow Connect · Heathrow Express · Hull Trains · London Midland · London Overground · Merseyrail · National Express East Coast · Northern Ireland Railways1 · Northern Rail · 'one'2 · Southeastern · Southern · South West Trains · Virgin Trains |
| International: | |
| Sub-brands: | |
| 1 Operates on the Irish railway network · 2 Becomes National Express East Anglia in February 2008 | |
Arriva Group UK | |
|---|---|
| Bus companies | Arriva London · Arriva Midlands (Arriva Derby, Arriva Fox County ,Arriva Midlands North) · Arriva North East · Arriva North West and Wales · Arriva Northumbria · Arriva Scotland West · Arriva Shires & Essex · Arriva Southern Counties · Arriva Yorkshire · Green Line Coaches · MK Metro · New Enterprise Coaches · The Heritage Fleet · The Original Tour
|
| Railway companies | Arriva Trains Wales · CrossCountry |
