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It is really good to know when we are stood on a packed 4 coach XC voyager for several hours, that there are 6 x 5 car units just sat in storage not being used. The increase in capacity from a 4 coach voyager to a 5 coach is really significant. I have recently travelled on a few Reading -...

Has there been any improvement to services since the last “Emergency Timetable “? Did CrossCountry achieve anything?

I was mainly referring to the lack of direct service from the North East / Yorkshire to Oxford/Reading. Currently it is an hour wait at Birmingham New Street. The services that they did (briefly) reintroduce were not at peak times. And regularly cancelled This not only significantly reduces...

Unfortunately it doesn’t say anything about returning to the full timetable. I say full timetable, it is still significantly reduced from pre-Covid

I am assuming it is just a ploy to allow them to remove all catering from XC services as no one uses it anymore. And too all those who say simply purchase food and drink at the station before you board, it is hard enough boarding a XC train with luggage / young children never mind trying to...

I guess they are really worried that people may sit in first class seats without paying for first class tickets. Much better to make sure everyone is crush loaded into a single set

I regularly use XC to travel from Banbury to West Yorkshire. The service is absolutely nowhere near as good as pre-Covid (which was atrocious anyway). The services from the south coast to the north east via Doncaster have never really been re-instated and the through services to Leeds completely...

Doesn’t help passengers to Coventry either

I travelled on a XC NE to Reading service last Friday. It was absolutely jam packed all the way from Doncaster to Oxford. And now they are cancelling all the NE to Reading services once again

I am travelling from Banbury to Paddington via Reading. We are a group of 4 or 5, looking on Trainline it offers us a Groupsave ticket but I thought these weren’t accepted on CrossCountry

Ever since they were first introduced I have always had a profound dislike for the class 150. Everything about it was and still is terrible. when introduced the pacers were really not much better (apart form the Class 141, I liked those). But the refurbishments to the class 144 made them quite...

I personally don’t really have a problem with changing trains but I would think it would be very off putting if you are elderly, have any mobility issues or are travelling with children or luggage. What I really dislike though is changing trains with cross country trains as when you board the...

Due to the closure of the Oxford- Didcot line XC services between Manchester Pic and Oxford are now 2 hourly as are services between Didcot and Bournemouth (I won’t ask why) but is there a reason why they don’t connect up with each other and leaves you with an hour wait at either Oxford or...

I have encountered occasional 10 car services on the Manchester - Reading / Bournemouth route. I still see quite a few 4 car services on this route. I know diagramming is complex but I really wish that XC would try to ensure all single voyager services are formed of 5 car units, surely that must...

Are any improvements to CrossCountry timetables expected from May 2023?

A few times I have seen trains in platform 5 at Lancaster been given a green signal but unable to depart as there are no one to dispatch them. I have even seen train crew have to go to the station manager office on platform 4 looking for someone to dispatch them. This does seem to cause quite a...

What are the rules at Lancaster? I have been on a few Northern services that have been delayed (always from Platform 5) waiting for dispatch from platform staff.

So here it is, another thread about overcrowding on XC. We all know the solutions are very simple and relatively inexpensive (compared to investment in other areas of the network). So I am sure that this thread will soon be locked (or worse consigned to speculative ideas). I can kind of...

The Reading / Southampton to Newcastle XC services used to have long dwell times at Birmingham, Derby and Sheffield (and then wait outside Doncaster). All due to pathing

I have always had a soft spot for the voyagers. I really think they are a good train but with a few flaws. Their performance is very good and pretty reliable. I am sure any carers, or anyone with young children really appreciate the large toilets. The seats are comfortable (compared to most...