| Re: Cross Country - 8 trains added to fleet over next 18 months Posted by IndustryInsider at 11:45, 13th October 2026 |     |
This is of course good news. Much more is ideally needed though.
| Cross Country - 8 trains added to fleet over next 18 months Posted by grahame at 07:15, 13th October 2026 | |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6n04j4lzlz5o
Passengers travelling between some of Britain's biggest cities could have access to 60,000 extra rail seats each week under plans from CrossCountry.
The eight additional trains would increase capacity on services running through Birmingham to Glasgow, Penzance and Bournemouth, as well as Leeds, Leicester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Cambridge and Manchester.
CrossCountry said the first of the extra Voyager trains would enter service in early 2027, with the remainder arriving by May 2028.
The eight additional trains would increase capacity on services running through Birmingham to Glasgow, Penzance and Bournemouth, as well as Leeds, Leicester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Cambridge and Manchester.
CrossCountry said the first of the extra Voyager trains would enter service in early 2027, with the remainder arriving by May 2028.
Shiona Rolfe, managing director of CrossCountry, said the investment demonstrated the company's commitment to delivering "the reliable railway our customers deserve" and building a stronger business for the future.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy said the additional trains would mean "more seats, less crowding and greater resilience" on services linking towns and cities across the country.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy said the additional trains would mean "more seats, less crowding and greater resilience" on services linking towns and cities across the country.
On our way to TravelWatch SouthWest last Friday, the Cross Country train to bring a lot of delegates showed up as "delayed" when I was (an hour earlier) at Bristol - ongoing story told elsewhere on the Coffee Shop - and the delegated arrived the best part of an hour late. On our way back, I took the Cross Country Edinburgh service as far as Bristol and it was full and standing, with the "extra luggage" section in the coach I was in filled not with luggage but with people. It was only a couple of minutes late - within tollerance, though optimists who hoped to connect to the London train in less that the official connection time were disappointed.
Shiona gave a presentation I found interesting, though others suggested she said no more than might have been expected from the MD of such a company. It did include an admission that they had/have problems and hinted that they were hoping for an announcement soon. (see above - BBC). No slide set to share or even give you key photos - just one slide introducing herself and the rest was talk-only.
Here - not written up and shared with some trepidation - are my notes
Shiona Rolfe - MD, XC.
Joined March '25
Have been listening and learning
Too crowded. Too many cancelled. Unrealiable Sunday.
Sorry - what are we doing?
"Growth follow reliability". Choose based on trust; basic service.
Reduced train crew cancellations by 10%
Capacity - know crowding is a big problem.
£100m refurb of all stock. More seats, more luggage space, better security.
Catering - 80 new staff. Challenge now to get people to use it
Stronger connections for the South West.
e.g. Southampton very important.
Passenger journey from HOME.
Commitment to LOOK AT other stops. Can't promise to fulfill.
Issues - BUT good colleagues. "Best people - worst tools".
Close to new stock. Also towards new fleet. What should long distance operations be?
Which connections matter most?
Last to become part of GBR
Safety and reliability
Joined March '25
Have been listening and learning
Too crowded. Too many cancelled. Unrealiable Sunday.
Sorry - what are we doing?
"Growth follow reliability". Choose based on trust; basic service.
Reduced train crew cancellations by 10%
Capacity - know crowding is a big problem.
£100m refurb of all stock. More seats, more luggage space, better security.
Catering - 80 new staff. Challenge now to get people to use it
Stronger connections for the South West.
e.g. Southampton very important.
Passenger journey from HOME.
Commitment to LOOK AT other stops. Can't promise to fulfill.
Issues - BUT good colleagues. "Best people - worst tools".
Close to new stock. Also towards new fleet. What should long distance operations be?
Which connections matter most?
Last to become part of GBR
Safety and reliability
Questions were asked about fare levels, especially for long distance journeys, and the rather awkward business of passengers saving money by splitting then having to change seats during the journey. My understanding of what was said in reply to the questions didn't really provide a positive answer - they were more along the lines of "not in our bailiwick to deal with / fix that".
