CrossCountry
XC Trains Limited, trading as CrossCountry, is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport in 2006, incorporating elements of both the Central Trains and the Virgin CrossCountry franchises, ahead of its invitation to tender on October of that year. On 10 July 2007, the DfT announced that Arriva had been awarded the New Cross Country franchise. CrossCountry is one of only two franchised train operating companies that does not manage any stations, the other being Caledonian Sleeper. CrossCountry's services have been periodically disrupted by industrial action amongst its staff, often due to disputes over rostering and pay. While the franchise had been originally due to conclude on 31 March 2016, multiple subsequent agreements have been enacted; in September 2023, the DfT confirmed that the franchise has been extended for a further four years for a finish date of 15 October 2027.
At the commencement of operations, CrossCountry's rolling stock consisted of 34 four-car Class 220 Voyagers and 40 five-car and 4 four-car Class 221 Super Voyagers from Virgin CrossCountry as well as 11 two-car and 18 three-car Class 170 Turbostars from Central Trains. As per its franchise agreement, it obtained ten Class 43 power cars and forty Mark 3 carriages to operate on services that required greater seating capacity, while some Super Voyagers were transferred to Virgin West Coast. Overhauls of the Voyager & Super Voyager fleets were performed, the removal of the shop to fit more seating and storage being a prominent change; the Mark 3 carriages were also refurbished to provide suitable amenities for modern travellers. Both the Super Voyagers and Turbostar fleets have been extended where possible to provide more capacity.
CrossCountry's network is centred around. It operates intercity and other long-distance passenger trains across Great Britain, but does not serve Greater London. It operated the UK's longest direct rail passenger service, from in the north-east of Scotland to in western Cornwall, which had a journey time of 13 hours and 15 minutes. This service ended on 16 May 2025, terminating short in Plymouth instead. Some services on the West Coast Main Line were promptly discontinued with the introduction of a new timetable on 9 December 2007, with some transferring over to both Virgin Trains West Coast and to First TransPennine Express, new services, such as a daily to service introduced during December 2008, were also implemented. CrossCountry has designated four stations as alternative changeover stations:,, and. Special services have occasionally been run, such as between and in support of the Sailing at the 2012 Olympics & Paralympics.
In August 2024, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, criticised the company's performance and threatened to take action if it did not improve, following its request to reduce its service levels in the new timetable.
History
Formation
During June 2006, the Department for Transport announced its intention to restructure a number of the existing railway franchises. As a result of these changes, a 'New Cross Country' franchise was produced, which incorporated the existing InterCity Cross Country franchise run by Virgin CrossCountry, while excluding those services ran on the West Coast Main Line. Several services from the Central Trains franchise were also to be added.In October 2006, the DfT issued the invitation to tender to the four shortlisted bidders: Arriva, FirstGroup, National Express and Virgin Rail Group. On 10 July 2007, the DfT announced that Arriva had been awarded the New Cross Country franchise, and that the services operated by Virgin CrossCountry would be transferred to CrossCountry on 11 November 2007, along with the to and to services from Central Trains.
Transfer and withdrawal of services
After taking over the franchise, CrossCountry continued to operate the existing timetable including the West Coast Main Line services for four weeks. When the new timetable commenced on 9 December 2007 on 11 November 2007, the to and services were transferred to Virgin Trains West Coast while the to Edinburgh and Glasgow services transferred to First TransPennine Express.The ITT did not require retention of the services beyond after December 2008, so the services to both and soon ceased. As a result of these changes, all CrossCountry services now completely avoid Greater London.
Changes to services
Starting in December 2008, a daily to service was introduced. From December 2010, a number of services from were extended from to. From May 2011, a number of services were extended from Edinburgh to Glasgow to replace East Coast services.By mid-2020, CrossCountry had considerably curtailed its services in response to the significant decline of passenger travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From 15 June 2020, both passengers and staff on public transport in England, including CrossCountry services, were required to wear face coverings while travelling, and that anyone failing to do so would be liable to be refused travel or fined.
Extension of the franchise
While the franchise had been originally due to conclude on 31 March 2016, during August 2013, it was announced that it had been extended until December 2019. At one point, it had been expected that an ITT would be issued in October 2018 for the next franchise, but in September 2018 it was announced that the competition had been cancelled so that the recommendations from a report into the franchise system could be incorporated. In July 2019, the Direct Award was further extended by one year, moving the expiry date back to October 2020.During September 2020, it was announced that the emergency agreements with train operating companies introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom were to be extended for 18months, and that all passenger rail franchising in Great Britain was abandoned. In October 2020, the DfT confirmed that the franchise had been extended for three years, putting the finishing date back to 15 October 2023. In September 2023, the DfT announced a franchise extension for a further four years to 15 October 2027 with a chance of extension of an additional four years. The franchise deal includes the refurbishment of the existing fleet, the potential introduction of extra rolling stock, the return of regular services linking and, and by December 2024 the reintroduction of daily services between and.
Industrial action
During November and December 2017, CrossCountry on-board train managers and senior conductors affiliated with the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers staged five 24-hour and two 48-hour strikes in an industrial dispute regarding staff rostering, in particular in relation to working on Sundays. Further strikes had been planned for January 2018, but these were cancelled after CrossCountry and the RMT came to an agreement over staff working conditions on 11 January.Separate strike action was later threatened by the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association union later that month, with strikes planned for 26 January. These were in relation to CrossCountry staff being offered a 1% pay rise, compared to a 3.3% pay rise for staff at other Arriva-owned train operating companies. As a result of an agreement with CrossCountry to match their demands for an equal pay rise, the planned industrial action by the TSSA was cancelled.
CrossCountry is one of several train operators affected by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers were amongst those who voted in favour of industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. CrossCountry was capable of operating only a very minimal timetable on any of the planned dates for the strikes due to the number of staff involved.
Performance issues
In August 2024, the Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, criticised the company's performance saying she had "serious concerns" and threatened to take action if it did not improve, following its request to reduce its service levels in the new three-month timetable which is due to run from 10 August to 9 November 2024.The company cited a driver training backlog as the reason for the reduced service. In a letter to the company's joint interim managing directors, Haigh said
Services
The company operates medium- and long-distance services that run outside of the London area. The network is centred at. Services can be categorised into two types:- Inter-City: long-distance, fast services between the South of England and the North of England or Scotland via Birmingham, these routes are typically operated by Voyager sets.
- Regional: medium-distance, stopping or semi-fast services between Birmingham and other cities in the Midlands, as well as some longer runs to Wales and East Anglia. These are usually operated by Turbostars.
Core
, the Monday-Friday daytime services, with frequencies in trains per hour, include:These services combine to provide higher frequencies between Birmingham and the following major destinations:
- Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester: two trains per hour
- Derby: at least three trains per hour
- * Sheffield, York, Darlington and Newcastle: at least one train per hour via Leeds
- * Nottingham: two trains per hour
- Leicester: two trains per hour
- Leamington Spa, Oxford and Reading: two trains per hour
- Cheltenham: three trains per hour
- * Bristol: two trains per hour