What is wrong with CrossCountry?

[MCW]

Well that certainly sounds like an intelligent, educated and well considered appraisal.

So, in summary then, they suck except for the bit where they are awesome. Inspiring stuff.

The fact the turbostar's have no sockets for mobile phones is probably the least of XC's worries.....and one of the trivial things when it comes to the ''real'' problems with the franchise :roll:

I'm talking as a passenger here with railway knowledge not as a railway lover seriously right, I have gone for a day out, my phone battery is running out and i need to charge it,so i'm stuck for anywhere upto a few hours on a 2 or 3 car DMU with no bloody power sockets... Brill.... Think about it that phone is the key to contacting family and being contacted in the event of an emergency.

secondly, as a person who uses the Brum Leicester services a fair bit, i can pretty well say that when i buy a ticket i want a damn seat I do not want to be standing for upto 50 mins if I am on my feet all day.

I also think a lack of rolling stock is their downfall...

Hopefully this is a response which will get understood and not downtrodden for a change...... :roll:

in fact i have another point, the catering sucks. you pay OTT for a bottle of coke and a kitkat, there is never a trolley on the damn train when you need it. Is this still trivial? if so then not my problem I'm just stating what I see wrong with Cross Country from MY experience...

 

[josh douglass]

personally I don't find XC to be too bad, however I do think that virgin did a better job.

 

[MCW]

personally I don't find XC to be too bad, however I do think that virgin did a better job.

didn't virgin operate more to the older Intercity Cross Country routes, which if I am correct, have been somewhat altered with time with franchise changes and operators?

 

[YorkshireBear]

Hmm wonder if they've stopped keeping up with the work then...

Well they've got their extension haven't they? (takes cynic hat off)

 

[Qwerty133]

Another problem is RPIs who cant see that asking passengers to find their tickets out of their bags to be checked WHEN ALIGHTING is a bad idea! whenever they try this now I always respond with 'I will show it on the platform'.

 

[1e10]

I emailed the CrossCountry Customer Relations team on 28/06/13 with some positive feedback and today (25/07/13) received a response from them.

 

[GadgetMan]

Another problem is RPIs who cant see that asking passengers to find their tickets out of their bags to be checked WHEN ALIGHTING is a bad idea! whenever they try this now I always respond with 'I will show it on the platform'.

Alot of ticketless passengers often feel the urge to make their way towards the exit doors prematurely when they see revenue staff approaching with the hope they'll get off without paying. So eager staff often target these passengers to ensure they are in possesion of a ticket for their journey. Don't see how that's unreasonable.

In the majority of cases you will see/hear revenue staff approaching you with ample time to have your ticket in your hand ready for inspection. Why do some people feel the need to be awkward towards staff by unnecessarily delaying them in carrying out their duties? Does your ticket really need to be buried deep inside your bag somewhere difficult to locate?

If you have a genuine reason to rant against staff then by all means carry on. However sometimes it's good practice to look in a mirror and consider your own behaviour before faulting others going about their duties.

 

[cjp]

I'm talking as a passenger here with railway knowledge not as a railway lover seriously right, I have gone for a day out, my phone battery is running out and i need to charge it,so i'm stuck for anywhere upto a few hours on a 2 or 3 car DMU with no bloody power sockets... Brill.... Think about it that phone is the key to contacting family and being contacted in the event of an emergency.
.

Was there not a song about langing on the telephone
sad then
sad now.
How many emergencies can ONLY be resolved by contactiing you then and there?
Good for one's ego though to think oneself indipensable

In business I would call it lack of planning

Sit back, relax, enjoy your time to yourself - it is rare enough in this frenetic world. Let XC carry you away to your destination whilst you unwind.

 

[howittpie]

I used XC for the first time in a couple of years yesterday and it has to be said it wasn't good. The unit looked like it hadn't a deep clean since Virgin days inside it was filthy, the toilets stunk, some of the seat reservations failed to work causing confusion and the at seat trolley service wasn't at seat it was at one end of the train when queried I seemed to get the response I can't be bothered to go through the train as it is not busy. Thank god I don't have to use XC often.

 

[MCW]

Was there not a song about langing on the telephone
sad then
sad now.
How many emergencies can ONLY be resolved by contactiing you then and there?
Good for one's ego though to think oneself indipensable

In business I would call it lack of planning

Sit back, relax, enjoy your time to yourself - it is rare enough in this frenetic world. Let XC carry you away to your destination whilst you unwind.

true point actually!

 

[pinguini]

Although I'm not generally positive about XC, I will praise them over their easy to understand off peak ticket restrictions. Sometimes I feel like I need a PhD to decipher some of the train ticket codes, but XC's are generally nice and simple to understand.

 

[AndyLandy]

This seems to be a regularly recurring question.

The summary about why XC seem to get maligned often is:
1. Their Voyager trains are considered too short. 4/5 car trains get very busy on peak services.
2. Their fares are considered to be quite high.
3. Given the nature of their services, there's a higher chance of delays.
4. They've scaled back their catering provision.

There are lots of gripes about their trains, some more valid than others, but this isn't any different from the gripes about lots of other stock.

In summary, they have their faults, but so do the other TOCs. They do a pretty good job under the circumstances.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Although I'm not generally positive about XC, I will praise them over their easy to understand off peak ticket restrictions. Sometimes I feel like I need a PhD to decipher some of the train ticket codes, but XC's are generally nice and simple to understand.

There's a counter-argument to that which goes along the lines of "Now I have to buy a peak ticket, when previously an off-peak would have covered this journey."

The "If it's before 0930, it's peak" is nice and easy to understand, but means a lot of people are paying over the odds for their journeys.

 

[yorksrob]

This seems to be a regularly recurring question.

The summary about why XC seem to get maligned often is:
1. Their Voyager trains are considered too short. 4/5 car trains get very busy on peak services.
2. Their fares are considered to be quite high.
3. Given the nature of their services, there's a higher chance of delays.
4. They've scaled back their catering provision.

There are lots of gripes about their trains, some more valid than others, but this isn't any different from the gripes about lots of other stock.

I suppose you could say that 3 isn't their fault, 1 is partly a legacy issue, although they don't help themselves by not running their 125's more and 2 and 4 are definately their fault.

This might explain why these threads keep cropping up.

 

[AndyLandy]

I suppose you could say that 3 isn't their fault, 1 is partly a legacy issue, although they don't help themselves by not running their 125's more and 2 and 4 are definately their fault.

This might explain why these threads keep cropping up.

The short-formation trains is definitely their biggest problem. I've spent far too much time wedged into a full-and-standing Voyager for 2+ hours.

I'm not sure how much more they could get out of their HST fleet. There's only a few sets in there, so even if they were able to use them more intensively, I can't see it doing more than freeing up a couple more Voyagers.

I live in hope that someone senior enough will realise that the Electric Spine project should result in Southampton-Manchester being fully wired by the end of CP5, and that buying some nice new EMUs for that particular XC route would be a Really Good Idea™ and would allow the released Voyagers to be doubled up on their other routes.

On-train catering seems to be dying a death everywhere. The SWT 444s all have a micro-buffet, but I've never seen it open. It's rare I even see a trolley service. The problem seems to be that whilst catering on trains is worth having, having extra bums on more seats is even more desirable.

 

[yorksrob]

The short-formation trains is definitely their biggest problem. I've spent far too much time wedged into a full-and-standing Voyager for 2+ hours.

I'm not sure how much more they could get out of their HST fleet. There's only a few sets in there, so even if they were able to use them more intensively, I can't see it doing more than freeing up a couple more Voyagers.

I live in hope that someone senior enough will realise that the Electric Spine project should result in Southampton-Manchester being fully wired by the end of CP5, and that buying some nice new EMUs for that particular XC route would be a Really Good Idea™ and would allow the released Voyagers to be doubled up on their other routes.

On-train catering seems to be dying a death everywhere. The SWT 444s all have a micro-buffet, but I've never seen it open. It's rare I even see a trolley service. The problem seems to be that whilst catering on trains is worth having, having extra bums on more seats is even more desirable.

Well, it's true, there aren't that many HST's that they have. At least if they didn't keep a couple back every now and again it would make it easier for those of us looking for them to get them !

As for catering, a sad reflection of modern society. That said, I've been accosted by a buffet trolley on the stopper from Ashford to Charing Cross more frequently than on the InterCity service from Leeds to Birmingham in the last couple of years, so I don't feel that XC is entirely helpless.

 

[AndyLandy]

At least if they didn't keep a couple back every now and again it would make it easier for those of us looking for them to get them !

Sadly, they never make it down to my neck of the woods. Southampton gets an exclusively-Voyager service. Haven't had decent XC trains down here in probably over a decade now.

 

[yorksrob]

Sadly, they never make it down to my neck of the woods. Southampton gets an exclusively-Voyager service. Haven't had decent XC trains down here in probably over a decade now.

Ah yes. I used to get Mk2's between Birmingham and Reading back in the day so I can empathise !

 

[tbtc]

I live in hope that someone senior enough will realise that the Electric Spine project should result in Southampton-Manchester being fully wired by the end of CP5, and that buying some nice new EMUs for that particular XC route would be a Really Good Idea™ and would allow the released Voyagers to be doubled up on their other routes

Or finding some spare 225s to run a half hourly service from Manchester to Southampton?

 

[AndyLandy]

Or finding some spare 225s to run a half hourly service from Manchester to Southampton?

Haha! A nice idea, although I doubt that IC225s would be appropriate stock for MAN-SOU. There are lots of stops and not much 125mph running, so they'd probably take longer than the Voyagers they'd be replacing. Much better to have something with decent acceleration, even if it tops out at 110mph.

Hmm, I wonder if we could find some spare 90s and Mk3 rakes?

 

[The Ham]

One way to improve XC would be (once the MML is electrified) to lengthen the 222's back to 9 coaches as it wouldn't matter that they weren't compaterable with the rest of the 22x fleet. With the rest of the 222's being used on the MML until it is fully wired up or elsewhere.

 

[AndyLandy]

One way to improve XC would be (once the MML is electrified) to lengthen the 222's back to 9 coaches as it wouldn't matter that they weren't compaterable with the rest of the 22x fleet. With the rest of the 222's being used on the MML until it is fully wired up or elsewhere.

I'd actually wondered if it's worth squeezing a bit more life out of some HSTs for the MML. Run it with IC125 and IC225 sets, and use all the Meridians elsewhere.

 

[455driver]

I'm talking as a passenger here with railway knowledge not as a railway lover seriously right, I have gone for a day out, my phone battery is running out and i need to charge it,so i'm stuck for anywhere upto a few hours on a 2 or 3 car DMU with no bloody power sockets... Brill.... Think about it that phone is the key to contacting family and being contacted in the event of an emergency.

Either dont use your phone unnecessarily (you know angry birds will survive for a few hours without you dont you ), buy a second battery and charge that one up before you leave or buy a phone with a decent battery capacity.

Easy fix, but then its the TOCs fault you cant organise yourself isnt it!:roll:

If the phone is for emergencies then dont use it like a portable computer/camera/music system/whatever else and keep it for emergencies.

 

[The Ham]

I'd actually wondered if it's worth squeezing a bit more life out of some HSTs for the MML. Run it with IC125 and IC225 sets, and use all the Meridians elsewhere.

I would be inclined to agree, with the 222's only have 27 sets and the IC225's having 31 sets it would make sense for the whole fleet to be used by one franchise.

If XC were to get the 222's (and they were converted to be able to run with the 221's) they would provide 7 more coaches (although over fewer sets) than the 220's that they would be replacing with the possibility of the following:

7x9 coach sets
21x4 coach sets

 

[AndyLandy]

I would be inclined to agree, with the 222's only have 27 sets and the IC225's having 31 sets it would make sense for the whole fleet to be used by one franchise.

If XC were to get the 222's (and they were converted to be able to run with the 221's) they would provide 7 more coaches (although over fewer sets) than the 220's that they would be replacing with the possibility of the following:

7x9 coach sets
21x4 coach sets

I assume you mean 20x4 coach sets? As I recall, those were the formations the Meridians were delivered in, 20x 4-car sets and 7x 9-car sets.

Also, replacing 220s? Where are the 220s going in this suggestion? If it were possible to free up the Meridians for XC use, I'd expect for the most part that it would result in more doubled-up formations, rather than freeing up any existing trains. If we were able to free anything up, I'd have thought a small number of 221s for Virgin to run Wrexham/Shrewsbury/Telford services would have been most likely.

 

[150001]

Rode XC the other day from Leamington Spa to Oxford. Train turned up 35 minutes late which I've always blamed on the fact the routes are just too long. Got on the train and what smell was I greeted with; the toilet! The smell also came through the air con so even at the far end of the car, the smell was still weakly there. Coming back the train was early but this Voyager also had the toilet smell. I've found the XC service from Cardiff to Brum much better with the 170s, although that tends to be crowded at times. So really XC isn't the best train company I've ridden; riding on one of the Chiltern Mainline stock is a dream and a much better quality train set up than the Voyagers.

 

[387star]

Rode XC the other day from Leamington Spa to Oxford. Train turned up 35 minutes late which I've always blamed on the fact the routes are just too long. Got on the train and what smell was I greeted with; the toilet! The smell also came through the air con so even at the far end of the car, the smell was still weakly there. Coming back the train was early but this Voyager also had the toilet smell. I've found the XC service from Cardiff to Brum much better with the 170s, although that tends to be crowded at times. So really XC isn't the best train company I've ridden; riding on one of the Chiltern Mainline stock is a dream and a much better quality train set up than the Voyagers.

That smell is the reason I travel by virgin pendolino rather than xc from southampton to manchester

 

[pinguini]

You travel on a pendolino to escape the toilet smell?!

 

[387star]

You travel on a pendolino to escape the toilet smell?!

the smell is never as bad... the voyagers suffer due to the close proximity of the exhaust I have been told

 

[John07]

Coventry - Manchester return fare, set by XC. £88

Rugby - Manchester return fare (valid via Coventry), set by Virgin Trains. £46.60

**Yes, I have compared an SOR to an SVR fare, however the SVR fare due to the nature of its restriction code is valid at any time**

I had similar issues when booking from Edinburgh to Reading. The XC fare (changing at Newcastle) was far more expensive (£70:50) than travelling East Coast via London (£56:00). Both were advanced fares.

 

[The Ham]

I assume you mean 20x4 coach sets? As I recall, those were the formations the Meridians were delivered in, 20x 4-car sets and 7x 9-car sets.

Also, replacing 220s? Where are the 220s going in this suggestion? If it were possible to free up the Meridians for XC use, I'd expect for the most part that it would result in more doubled-up formations, rather than freeing up any existing trains. If we were able to free anything up, I'd have thought a small number of 221s for Virgin to run Wrexham/Shrewsbury/Telford services would have been most likely.

Sorry, I miss counted.

Given we are likely to be talking about 2019, there is a chance that the ICWC franchise will have been relet and therefore any improvements in service will be enabled by the provission of a new IC EMU (given how many services the 221's run totaly under the wires).