As we expected: Remaining eight 221s for XC

[TT-ONR-NRN]

CrossCountry have today confirmed acquisition of the eight remaining Class 221 - that’s six currently off lease and two on short-term loan to Grand Central. As I’m sure we all expected.

CrossCountry introduces additional Voyager trains to improve capacity

Eight additional trains to enter service in succession from early 2027. Extra trains bring total of additional seats on CrossCountry routes since 2024 to 60,000 seats per week. Additional trains support ongoing refurbishment programme to deliver better journeys for CrossCountry customers.

crosscountry-newsroom.prgloo.com

12 Oct 2026

CrossCountry introduces additional Voyager trains to improve capacity

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Eight additional trains to enter service in succession from early 2027. Extra trains bring total of additional seats on CrossCountry routes since 2024 to 60,000 seats per week. Additional trains support ongoing refurbishment programme to deliver better journeys for CrossCountry customers.

CrossCountry has today, Monday 12 October, announced plans to strengthen its long-distance fleet with the introduction of eight additional Voyager trains*, which will enter service in succession from early 2027. The additional trains, secured through collaboration between CrossCountry, Arriva, the Department for Transport and rolling stock company Beacon, will provide additional capacity and greater resilience across the CrossCountry network, helping deliver a more reliable railway for customers travelling between major towns and cities across Great Britain. Along with 12 trains introduced during 2024-25, the eight additional trains will deliver almost 60,000 extra seats per week across the CrossCountry network, providing additional capacity on some of the company's busiest routes and supporting future growth in customer demand. Shiona Rolfe, CrossCountry's Managing Director, said: "Our customers want a railway they can rely on, and these additional Voyager trains are an important step towards delivering that. They will give us greater flexibility and capacity across the network, helping us reduce crowding, improve reliability and support future timetable improvements. Together with our fleet refurbishment programme, this investment demonstrates our commitment to delivering the reliable railway our customers deserve and building a stronger CrossCountry for the future". Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said: "Once these extra trains are in service, it means more seats, less crowding and greater resilience for services between major towns and cities across Great Britain, from Edinburgh and Glasgow in the north to Southampton and Bournemouth in the south. "As we bring passenger services into public ownership through Great British Railways, we will bring track and train together to deliver the joined-up, reliable services, passengers deserve, supporting growth, jobs and homes up and down the country." Amanda Furlong, Arriva UK Trains' Managing Director, said: "The addition of these trains is great news for CrossCountry customers and an important step towards strengthening the service. The increased capacity will support a more reliable and resilient railway, helping CrossCountry deliver the dependable journeys customers expect. It will also help to make travelling by rail a more attractive and comfortable option, encouraging more people to leave their cars at home and travel sustainably on public transport." Adam Cunliffe, Beacon's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are delighted to be supporting CrossCountry with eight additional Voyager trains, further strengthening capacity across its long-distance network. This milestone will see all 78 Voyager trains owned by Beacon in service with CrossCountry, demonstrating our continued commitment to supporting their fleet requirements. "Working in partnership with CrossCountry and Alstom, these trains will undergo a modification and refurbishment programme to deliver an enhanced passenger experience. We look forward to seeing the upgraded trains enter service." Rob Whyte, Alstom's UK Managing Director, said: "We are delighted to continue supporting CrossCountry as it expands its Voyager fleet to deliver more capacity for passengers across Great Britain. Building on our long-standing partnership, Alstom will maintain these additional trains to the highest standards of safety, reliability and performance, while also carrying out refurbishment works at our Derby site," "We are proud to support the continued expansion and upgrade of the CrossCountry fleet, both now and into the future. This investment demonstrates the value of extending and enhancing proven rolling stock to meet growing passenger demand, improve the customer experience and deliver a more reliable railway for communities across Britain." The first of the additional Voyager trains is expected to enter service from early 2027, with the remainder entering service in stages through to May 2028. Before entering service, each train will undergo detailed work to integrate them with CrossCountry's existing trains, supporting the operator's wider work to improve the customer experience and strengthen the resilience of its fleet. As these trains join the CrossCountry fleet, they will provide additional capacity and open up new journey opportunities on routes including Edinburgh and Glasgow, Reading and Newcastle, Reading and Southampton, and Manchester and Bournemouth. The arrival of the additional Voyager trains builds on CrossCountry's wider investment in its fleet and network. Alongside the expansion programme, both the long-distance Voyager fleet and the inter-regional Turbostar fleet are undergoing extensive refurbishment to improve comfort, onboard facilities and the overall customer experience. Together, the fleet expansion and refurbishment programmes represent significant investment in CrossCountry's future. They will deliver more capacity, greater fleet resilience and a better customer experience, while supporting CrossCountry's ambition to provide a more reliable railway for communities across Great Britain in the years ahead.

 

[Iskra]

Very good news indeed.

This also puts to bed rumours that the GC pair are heading to EMR.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Very good news indeed.

This also puts to bed rumours that the GC pair are heading to EMR.

It doesn’t necessarily as those rumours did always come with a suggestion they’d go to EMR only temporarily before moving on to XC. Worth noting it does say the first of this final batch will only begin moving over from the start of 2027. Some are not due to arrive until May 2028, which seems staggering, but can probably be attributed to the effects of long-term storage.

 

[tfw756rider]

Very good news indeed.

As long as they employ enough extra staff for the 'a member of staff must be in each unit' policy, to cover the extra units.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

As long as they employ enough extra staff for the 'a member of staff must be in each unit' policy, to cover the extra units.

Actually that could be another reason why introduction will stretch to May 2028.

 

[Snow1964]

Does this mean there will be enough, so 4car units never need to be run singly (except west of Plymouth or north of Dundee).

Of course having units is one thing but recent performance figures suggest XC regularly cancels about 10% of its timetabled services, so will it employ enough staff to get back to operating 97+% (without any locked out) and actually utilise these extra 8 units

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Does this mean there will be enough, so 4car units never need to be run singly (except west of Plymouth or north of Dundee).

Of course having units is one thing but recent performance figures suggest XC regularly cancels about 10% of its timetabled services, so will it employ enough staff to get back to operating 97+% (without any locked out) and actually utilise these extra 8 units

Shiona Rolfe said so in a previous interview. Whether or not she’ll stick to that is anyone’s guess.

 

[45Fox]

Does this mean there will be enough, so 4car units never need to be run singly (except west of Plymouth or north of Dundee).

I certainly wouldn't bet a week's salary on it!

 

[mmh]

"We won't run them singly" always turns out not to be the case.

 

[Corn]

Do we know how long the GC pair are on lease to GC for? That could be why the timescale reaches into 2028 if they still have a while left to operate GC services before moving over to XC.

 

[brad465]

Does this mean there will be enough, so 4car units never need to be run singly (except west of Plymouth or north of Dundee).

Of course having units is one thing but recent performance figures suggest XC regularly cancels about 10% of its timetabled services, so will it employ enough staff to get back to operating 97+% (without any locked out) and actually utilise these extra 8 units

Whether or not they will, I'm hoping this will allow some extra service extensions, such as extending the Bristol terminator to Exeter so 2tph fast runs through here. I think strengthening the Birmingham-Reading corridor though is the biggest priority and wouldn't be surprised if this is where the enlarged fleet is targeted.

 

[JonathanH]

Whether or not they will, I'm hoping this will allow some extra service extensions, such as extending the Bristol terminator to Exeter so 2tph fast runs through here.

Exeter always seemed to be predicated on the use of platform 2 which could only take a single unit.

It will be interesting to see what infrastructure limitations exist around providing the service levels and capacity that people have been calling for.

 

[tomoufc]

Do we know how long the GC pair are on lease to GC for? That could be why the timescale reaches into 2028 if they still have a while left to operate GC services before moving over to XC.

That’s how I read it.

 

[Kite159]

Whether or not they will, I'm hoping this will allow some extra service extensions, such as extending the Bristol terminator to Exeter so 2tph fast runs through here. I think strengthening the Birmingham-Reading corridor though is the biggest priority and wouldn't be surprised if this is where the enlarged fleet is targeted.

Isn't there also a limitation with the Newcastle - Reading services having to be a 4 coach voyager due to the bay platform it uses at Newcastle only being long enough for 4 coaches?

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Isn't there also a limitation with the Newcastle - Reading services having to be a 4 coach voyager due to the bay platform it uses at Newcastle only being long enough for 4 coaches?

I thought that was soon being largely truncated at York anyway.

 

[Kite159]

I thought that was soon being largely truncated at York anyway.

And the cuts at Durham station continues

 

[Snow1964]

Do we know how long the GC pair are on lease to GC for? That could be why the timescale reaches into 2028 if they still have a while left to operate GC services before moving over to XC.

Grand Central new units are supposed to start build in Spring 2027, they are very much 5car clones of 805s, but with the new battery packs too, so hopefully will work virtually out of box (unlike the troublesome 810s)

I would guess Grand Central would be releasing their pair as soon as they have sufficient new trains in service.

I am guessing the 8 units will be added to tail end of the refurbishment programme (can anyone confirm or say otherwise)

 

[brad465]

Isn't there also a limitation with the Newcastle - Reading services having to be a 4 coach voyager due to the bay platform it uses at Newcastle only being long enough for 4 coaches?

Exeter always seemed to be predicated on the use of platform 2 which could only take a single unit.

It will be interesting to see what infrastructure limitations exist around providing the service levels and capacity that people have been calling for.

If an 8-9 car train can spilt at Bristol/York, you can run a full train through the core route still.

 

[Goldfish62]

Isn't there also a limitation with the Newcastle - Reading services having to be a 4 coach voyager due to the bay platform it uses at Newcastle only being long enough for 4 coaches?

5 coach 221s are on some of these services.

 

[LittleRedTrain]

Excellent news! Now if only we could have them all stop at Banbury to give us a decent-capacity, 2tph, service to Oxford/Reading, that'd be even better.

 

[A S Leib]

I thought that was soon being largely truncated at York anyway.

And the cuts at Durham station continues

That would be down 1tph between Newcastle and York from 2019*, with the TPE Manchester Airport services gone and the LNER Newcastle terminators introduced.

*from a passenger perspective, rather than the physical position of having a Lumo service passing through every 2-3 hours.

 

[david1212]

Excellent news! Now if only we could have them all stop at Banbury to give us a decent-capacity, 2tph, service to Oxford/Reading, that'd be even better.

I had not realised that any XC service skipped Banbury.

..... I think strengthening the Birmingham-Reading corridor though is the biggest priority and wouldn't be surprised if this is where the enlarged fleet is targeted.

While the Birmingham-Reading corridor gets badly overcrowded is it worse than Birmingham - Derby / Sheffield / Doncaster / York or Birmingham - Bristol?

 

[Class 317]

If my maths is right and availability is about right I'd expect 33-34 5 car sets in service daily and 32 out of 38 4 car sets or thereabouts.

Given basically the same service as now was operated by 57 Voyagers plus a couple of HST in daily service I'd be surprised if once staffing is sorted many 4 car services run.

This should largely sort out the vast majority of overcrowding problems in normal service.

Of course they need to fix staffing as well.

 

[hexagon789]

I had not realised that any XC service skipped Banbury.

3 southbound and 2 northbound IIRC.

I believe they are all among the restored services from the May timetable change; some had to work around freight paths and I believe some were ostensibly for capacity reasons than timetable ones.

 

[LittleRedTrain]

I had not realised that any XC service skipped Banbury.

Some of the Reading-NE services now skip Banbury, because XC let the paths lapse and now can't fit the stops in. (They've used the excuse that it's to reduce overcrowding and make it more comfortable!).

While the Birmingham-Reading corridor gets badly overcrowded is it worse than Birmingham - Derby / Sheffield / Doncaster / York or Birmingham - Bristol?

It suffers from a lot of overlapping flows: Students and tourists to/from Oxford, holidaymakers to Bournemouth, cruise ship passengers heading to Southampton, airport users heading to Birmingham Airport and visitors to the NEC, on top of all the usual commuter and regular leisure travellers.
It's very common for a 4 or 5 car to arrive at Banbury full to the point that nobody can board.

 

[Iskra]

If my maths is right and availability is about right I'd expect 33-34 5 car sets in service daily and 32 out of 38 4 car sets or thereabouts.

Given basically the same service as now was operated by 57 Voyagers plus a couple of HST in daily service I'd be surprised if once staffing is sorted many 4 car services run.

This should largely sort out the vast majority of overcrowding problems in normal service.

Of course they need to fix staffing as well.

I am informed that XC have a large cohort of TM’s in training

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I am informed that XC have a large cohort of TM’s in training

Informed by who, sorry?

 

[DDB]

Do we know if the plan is to use then to double up more current services or restore some of the missing services that got chopped out of the timetable?

 

[mityellow]

That would be down 1tph between Newcastle and York from 2019*, with the TPE Manchester Airport services gone and the LNER Newcastle terminators introduced.

*from a passenger perspective, rather than the physical position of having a Lumo service passing through every 2-3 hours.

It's the ~45 minute gaps northbound which are the primary issue. The 3tph is not really 3tph if they all come within approximately 10minutes...

Plus there was a brief period of 5tph when there was the 2 CrossCountry, 2 TPE and 1 LNER.

Southbound is a bit better but still 25minute gaps and some almost an hour in the evening (and then two trains in about 2 minutes).

That said (sorry, back on topic) I think this extra XC is always between existing services so is more help for capacity than timings?

 

[hexagon789]

Do we know if the plan is to use then to double up more current services or restore some of the missing services that got chopped out of the timetable?

Seems to be both if I've interpreted the article linked in Post #1 on XC's website correctly:

'As these trains join the CrossCountry fleet, they will provide additional capacity and open up new journey opportunities on routes including Edinburgh and Glasgow, Reading and Newcastle, Reading and Southampton, and Manchester and Bournemouth.'