CrossCountry Trains has announced that it is adding extra trains to its fleet, and that all its existing trains are to undergo a major refurbishment.
An additional 12,000 seats will be available each week from the acquisition of five Voyager trains from rolling stock company Beacon Rail on top of seven extra Voyager trains that it secured last October.
The refurbishment will cover all 58 of CrossCountry’s existing Voyager fleet as well as its regional Turbostar trains.
With 12 extra trains totalling 60 additional carriages, CrossCountry’s long-distance services will be strengthened from May 2025 by increasing capacity on north-south routes by over 36,000 seats per week.
We’re delighted to announce these transformational changes in fleet and on-board experience
Julian Edwards and Scott Maynard, CrossCountry’s Interim Managing Directors
A new timetable is also planned to apply from May 2025 for more services and longer trains across its network, on CrossCountry’s busy corridor between Reading and Newcastle.
The extra trains are being released by Avanti West Coast. They will be progressively introduced into service from June this year, in time to provide an extra 12,000 seats during the busy summer holiday period.
Although the extra trains will be introduced as soon as possible to relieve overcrowding on some long-distance services this summer, a temporary change will be made to the timetable by removing some station stops for the busier trains between June and September.
To provide extra capacity for CrossCountry customers making longer journeys, passengers making shorter journeys will be encouraged to switch to other operators by removing station stops at Wakefield Westgate, Chesterfield, Basingstoke, and Winchester.
CrossCountry’s Turbostar trains which operate regional services between Cardiff and Nottingham, and Birmingham and Stansted Airport, will all be refurbished by summer 2026.
We’re delighted to announce these transformational changes in fleet and on-board experience, which customers will start to benefit from as soon as this summer.
Our teams are working hard to ensure the smooth introduction and refurbishment of extra trains and we look forward to working with colleagues at Alstom and Beacon Trains to give the ever-impressive Voyager fleet a new lease of life on the CrossCountry network.
Julian Edwards and Scott Maynard, CrossCountry’s Interim Managing Directors
More seats, services and refurbished trains will make for a better passenger experience, helping to relieve crowding. As well as benefiting those travelling with CrossCountry, this important investment in upgraded trains also builds on our record of supporting the rail supply chain.
Rail Minister, Huw Merriman MP
For more than 20 years, CrossCountry’s Voyagers have proudly served towns and cities across Great Britain – travelling millions of miles in the process. We now look forward to giving these iconic Alstom-built trains some well-deserved TLC with a comprehensive overhaul that will include new seats, on-board technology enhancements and an exterior repaint.
Not only will the refurbishment delight fare-paying customers with increased levels of comfort and accessibility, the overhaul programme will support UK suppliers and skilled jobs across the country.
Peter Broadley, Alstom’s Managing Director of Rolling Stock and Services for UK and Ireland
Responses
However it’s dressed up, the service is not a patch on how it used to be in terms of quality.
Before Virgin Trains ruined it, CrossCountry was a much more extensive network of through trains to and from
far-flung destinations.
Granted there may have only been a few trains a day at the extremities but there was still a frequent service over the “core”.
The rolling stock was usually hand-me down but still very comfortable, with trains of 7-12 coaches in length with a proper buffet.
It was a pleasant way to travel.
The present day operation is more like a budget airline.
It’s about time cross country trains are very over crowded you can never get a seat I’ve often stood from Birmingham to Manchester if you want a seat you can pay £120 first class which is a joke
Why dont you serve a city bigger than Newcastle, Bristol, Coventry,Derby and others? Why not Liverpool? Why is the rail system in the north so Manchester-centric?
I absolutely hate making my monthly work trips to Birmingham from north east. The trains are small, struggle getting a seat, even when booking one, struggle with over crowding and the trains just are not spacious at all. The window seat is almost only half a seat. Give me an LNER azuma to London anyday over this cattle mart journey.
I hope this is true and it does improve and some of the new carriages actually have two decent seats and clear seats reservation lighting etc.
They took 5 (x7 coach) HSTs out of the fleet, these new voyagers only brings capacity back to meet the same fleet size as in 2021. As for refurb it won’t be new seats just the same old rubbishy ones recovered probably with the old virgin moquette used for the last 20 years. AXC is rubbish and should have had it’s franchise stripped years ago.
They were not built by Alstom, they were built by Bombardier, though the traction motors are from Alstom. Alstom have since inherited their builder, but that doesn’t mean they built them.
In the case of the Voyager, you can’t polish a turd.
Any refurb of the awful Voyager is welcome. I miss the comfort and space of the HST.
Removing Basingstoke will not be popular. On a Sunday there is only one train per hour between Reading and Basingstoke and that leaves just before the Cross Country arrives. Anyone would have nearly an hours wait at Reading which wouldn’t be popular unless there is a major timetable change.
The HST’s were power unit at each end, with carriages in between of the style of loco hailed trains. The important thing from the fare paying passenger’s points of view, is that they travelled in spacious seats on trains with enough seats available to make the journey enjoyable. Rail travel has moved away from this simple utopia. I fear it sadly will never return to it.
Reduced intermediate stops to cut journey times has some merit but x is all about connections. Basingstoke is a station with plenty of connections so is not a stop that should be cut out.
More to the point, if you remove Winchester AND Basingstoke there’s nowhere for people coming from Portsmouth/Fareham via Hedge End/Eastleigh to connect with the Cross Country service without changing at Eastleigh for an entirely the wrong direction trip to Southampton Airport Parkway.
That’s in addition to shifting Eastleigh/Shawford/Winchester/Micheldever and Basingstoke customers onto SWR to board the Cross Country at either Southampton Airport or Reading.
Longer trains mean problems at some stations because of short platforms and what about all single lines there will be bottle necks there is not enough railway lines to take any extra trains overcrowding inside and over capacity on the rails too many trains
They’ve spent the last couple of years cutting trains services, we are just going back to the situation pre 2020.
Once a cattle class always a cattle class. No refurb or paint can cover that. Old no longer fit for purpose trains, overcrowded to the point one questions safety
Shame they got rid of there HSTs, which one set set had more seats than 2 voyagers together and had only themselves just been refurbished. I see no new stock or any of the sets West Coast are releasing into storage! Let’s be honest the Voyagers do not have the greatest luggage space and looking at them inside they have the space and comfort as an aeroplane. They very tumbler just like an aeroplane fuselage!
Your description of the 220/221’s are accurate, up here in Scotland and in a couple of rail magazines , there is talk of the class 222 7 car and 5 car meridian trains being sent to Scotrail , however most unusually , EMT is having to pay for a full strip and rebuild of the Class 222 units , that are arguably way superior to the voyagers , I personally travelled on them , twice when they worked with hull trains and elsewhere , fast smooth, comfy and quiet , and even an at seat power point , and at 7 good length vehicles , you had a decent train set .
The voyagers however , the 221 is called that to help folk tell the difference, between which is with , eg tilt or not tilt , the 221’s even under cross country, had the tilt system active when the 221’s got cascaded to cross country , from virgin
Further the interior , feels quite small as the voyagers are supposed to be just a redesigned version of the larger tilting class 390’s .
Which also has what feels like a very ‘ cosy ‘ interior, and while the 390’s are impressive, they missed a trick by not allowing those on the east coast mainline as well ( and yes I’m aware it’s straighter , but by now the refurb on them could be including in cab signalling , to.allow them.to.run full speed between Kings cross or St pancras and Edinburgh/ Stirling , probably at much higher speeds . ( EG-140-160) Mph achieved during testing , had this have occured we would have had a relatively high speed line , if line speeds where maxed at 160mph and stops at only main stations on some services, I’d wager they’d have been faster than a HS2 train. That so far appears to be a development of the regular new HST- the class 800.
My question about the new refits , are they going to remove comfy seating which the class 170, and 158’s always had when I tried them in Scotland and the 158 both in Scotland and Yorkshire .
A icant speak of the 360, as not heard the experience of them, however looking gat them in my UK 2023-25 rolling stock guide a thick book on different trains , locos ,units , sets etc, those 360’s already look fairly neat inside and a big step up from the aircraft style cabin in a voyager .
The person describing these types as aircraft style are spot on. They are exactly that but minus the creature comforts!!.
Indeed most aircraft, even the 2+2 Embraer Ejets , are larger in ‘ cabin space ‘ point is , the Voyagers were designed to mimic the Interior of it’s bigger cousin the class 390 pendalino.
Those trains are very impressive in terms of acceleration and comfort , or used to be .
I’m not sure that the current refur by Avanti is especially a step forward, farther if EMT are being forced to spend millions vastly updating their class 222’s ( which are most likely headed up here to Scotland) -( plus grand union is taking some , for it’s Camerthen – paddington, Stirling – London , Cardiff – Edinburgh ).
The reminder most likely 7 car sets if enough left would join the Scotrail fleet , though I guess it’s too much to hope Scotrail .ight start to run down the ECML , from say thurso , Inverness , Perth, Stirling , Edinburgh, Dunbar and Reston , Morpeth, Newcastle , York and or Leeds as well .
With any intercity class unit , either HST or Class 222..
If they are to temp folk from cars and back onto the railways we need more new railways or rather reopened railways new or reopened stations , enhanced and extended existing stations , and of course comfortable trains to get around on.
XC are not grabbing that they cannot polish a turd, and while there are far worse units than a voyager , it rarely isn’t suitable for the journey lengths it does , I hate to say it but only the class 800 can achieve that ( or the rather excellent Stadler flirt 745 and whatever TfW are calling theirs ) .
If XC had the long distance services covered by units built for that kind of service and did like EMT and had regional and connectz the could then shuffle these sets accordingly .
Either way as consumers we need choice , XC isn’t giving anywhere near the choice we need .
Hopefully.the new open access operators , some have been identified as have their routes , it the rail magazines articles were stating they could not yet reveal ‘ the several other operators ‘, it was implied one wants services that will challenge Cross country .
I say about time too.
Will the seats line up with the windows, or, more likelely, the same cramped claustrophobic interiors will remain.? Train travel should be an enjoyable experience, not the unpleasant conditions as exist currently.
Ideally a big train and not very often or little trains very often The trouble with XC it’s a little train and not very often as in 1 per hour with just 4 coaches …
The trains are always packed out, especially on Sundays, when a lot of people are going home or travelling to an event. No extra carriages are put on and it’s not right especially the fares you have to pay.
Or very often, two coaches on the busy Stanstead-Birmingham route.
Basically it looks like a reduced offer unless you live in a major town/city v
The Voyager units were a poorer quality, lower capacity offering, when they were first introduced under the disastrous ‘Operation Princess’. The noisy ride and cramped 3rd rate airline seating also must be improved. I fear it will not be.
Be nice to have better cleaner toilets that actually work and and makeing for the is more wheelchair friendly to and hopefully this will help others to who have hinded disability to
Totally agree with previous comments. However the Voyager units were a poorer quality lower capacity when they first replaced existing loco hauled trains – under the disastrous Virgin XCountry ‘Operation Princess’. The noisy ride and cramped 3rd rate airline seating needs to be improved. Will it be? I fear not.
‘Proudly serving towns and cities across the UK for over 20 years?’ What a joke! The ‘iconic’ Voyagers are hardly the last word in comfort. Every coach is noisy, cramped and smells of toilets and hot brake linings. The seats are almost bolt upright and cause backache on any journey over an hour. I once had the misfortune to travel from Bournemouth to Derby on one once and vowed never to do it again in one of these vile trains. Overcrowding is common and late running is an everyday occurrence on Cross Country. Now they tell us that these trains are going to be overhauled and refurbished. The phrase ‘You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’ comes to mind.
More nonsense from XC.
This will not provide extra carriages and seats as they have recently withdrawn their entire HST fleet. There wasn’t any reason for this apart from cost cutting.
Consequently many of their HST turns are currently running with significantly few seats and carriages.
Prior to covid XC were running hourly trains trains on the Newcastle to reading axis.
Almost every one has been withdrawn.
As a regular traveller on XC my advance first class tickets have increased by almost 300% since covid.
Now they have the audacity to say they will running trains with extra seats and carriages.
How do rail companies get with running the network as if it was Hornby?
Bring back the smooth comfortable Hsts
Spot on …… their trains are now very old and clapped out i know i`ve used them a number of time …. not out of choice but their is`nt another operator.
The.voyagers are more reliable than the HSTs, so 12 sets replacing 5 HSTs WILL increase capacity. Will have to wait and see what happens with the refurbishment. Yes of course there are lots of issues, but at least this is a start
Restore some cycle rack storage please!
When will there be more trains stopping at Worcestershire Park way?
Hope that the luggage racks are improved to fit thicker luggage and not just laptops.
So much for clean energy, more diesel pollution when they are under the wires
Time for a major change to the voyagers.
Any refurbishment needs to ensure more legroom and more comfy seats than the current seats used today. This will probably mean less seats in each coach but the cross country trains need a product worthy of the distances they cover. Over the last 20 years there has been suffering by the fare paying customer.
At the very least, they ought to make the four car sets into five. And how about trying to address the noise problem?Or will they blow their money on a new paint job? I could say it would be polishing a t**d but I won’t. 🙂
They could even have or inherit the Class 222 Meridians that are to be replaced by the Class 810 IETs used on EMR Intercity services to & from London St. Pancras International to Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Sheffield. But good to see CrossCountry using the former Avanti West Coast Club 221 Voyagers.
Perhaps someone, somewhere, in the rail hierarchy will also realise that the concept of running shorter trains but with more frequency was doomed to be an abject failure from the get go. Passengers are encouraged to turn up at their respective stations in good time to get their train – in reality this meant that they boarded a late running train – normally of four coaches – instead of the one that they had intended catching – resulting in rampant overcrowding. It also made the practice of reservation an impossible task – did one let a late running train go through in the hope that the train with your seat on it would turn up. I am old enough to remember trains consisting of 12 coaches – but you could get a seat! Passengers are more interested in seats and trains turning up than saving a couple of minutes on the timetabled length of their journey. I hope that the refurbishment of the Voyager sets will increase passenger comfort and capacity but I am not holding my breath.
The East Mids 222s are incompatible with the 220/221s so can’t be used by XC.
So true. Perhaps the Class 222s should go to ScotRail or South Western Railway.
WSMR are having several 5 and 7 car sets from later this year for their new services beginning next year.
Same here with regard to 12 carriages.
That was the standard formation back in the day. Eight carriages was a short formation. Today’s it’s a long train.
I also remember relief trains, Saturday seaside trains that ran packed out almost every weekend.
Scarborough station had 13 platforms and massive sidings that were full of rolling stock.
Etc etc.
Today we have a publicly funded rail network that exists simply to transfer money from the public to private sector.
Companies first priority is to their shareholders.
Thats fine for private company’s. But these companies are being funded by the taxpayer.
Yet we’ve got no say or control.
You can’t have social sector run for profit as there’s no profit in it.
Not unless the taxpayer pays for it.
What a mess. It’s going to be almost impossible to disentangle this mess as it’s set up that way. Same as all the other privately own utilities.
Will wait and see if the regular over crowding where people are treated as cattle will stop. Considering the price of rail travel this practice should have stopped in the 19th century
Unfortunately , profits and bonuses usually come before the customer when it comes to the British rail system.