Why does everybody hate XC?

[Crossover]

Generally I have to say I have had few problems with XC and don't find the Voyagers particularly bad. However I have had a few issues with XC before:

In summer 09 I got the train from Plymouth to Exeter which was a HST (looking at timings I think it may have been 1725 or there abouts) which was heading to Leeds having done an 11 hour journey from Scotland. Normally it would have 10 min turnaround I recall but had about 2 due to late running - as a consequwnce there was rubbish everywhere and the toilets had no water - not too great for another lengthy journey back up north.

The other one was last night - waiting for the last train of the night from Stoke to Stafford - due at 22.47, eventually turned up at about 23.43....
Luckily we knew about it so were expecting a lengthy delay as at 22.47, the service northbound hadn't got to Manchester, let alone start its return working, but we headed to the station anyway (thought was if they cancelled and we were there we would hope they would get us back to Stafford somehow)
There wasn't a single annoucement about the delay at all (though probably ,ore Virgins fault as they manage the station) just an annoucement saying it was about to arrive (the guy sounded fed up - understandable i guess though) - though the boards cleared before it arrived!
When we got on the train, again, there were no announcements apologising for the late running of the service - wouldn't take much to do and for a 55 min delay, would have been justified - or do they assume people travelling so late aren;t bothered about it?

 

[xtradj]

I dont know why people hate XC

The trains are always going to be busy because XC are a busy route. Atleast there are usually 2 an hour on most routes with 4/5 coaches.. some even more with HST's.. whereas look at other lines ie Lpool to Norwich using 158's 3 carriages always full

There is alot worse than XC belive me.. considering they use modern fast trains compared to alot of other companies

 

[furryfeet]

After all that, leasing existing stock (if available) may work out cheaper?

Do have any suggestions then, as to where such stock is ?

The poor passengers who have to suffer from the overcrowding( e.g. Eric ) on this franchise do not give a hoot as to where the stock comes from, or what the running costs / lease deals are. All they want is a seat in a clean train at a decent price.

 

[grandad_2010]

i just wanted to say hi ive just joined i see theres lots of infomation for users which is great so hi everyone cheers richard

 

[Greenback]

I had a lovely journey from Birmingham to Cardiff on the service via Gloucester last Monday morning. No overcrowding, seats more comfortable than Voyagers and a reasonable advance fare. No smells from the toilet either, although it was nice to see FC is still being used as the staff lounge!

 

[tbtc]

I had a lovely journey from Birmingham to Cardiff on the service via Gloucester last Monday morning. No overcrowding

Possibly no overcrowding as your three car 170 will have had more seats than the four car Voyagers on the Bristol service...

 

[scotsman]

On Scotrail the trolley can offer them the same first class goodies as anyone sat in the area. They may not want lots of standing passengers or bikes sharing the area, something that you would not tollerate on an IC journey.

Err, Inverurie/Inverness/Aberdeen-Glasgow/Edinburgh are most definitely IC services!

 

[Failed Unit]

Err, Inverurie/Inverness/Aberdeen-Glasgow/Edinburgh are most definitely IC services!

Maybe are for distance. But definately not by the trains that operate them which are just commuter trains!

 

[Greenback]

Possibly no overcrowding as your three car 170 will have had more seats than the four car Voyagers on the Bristol service...

Yes indeed, it was a tongue in cheek post, as the train was mid morning and hardly going to be full of commuters anyway!

 

[tbtc]

Err, Inverurie/Inverness/Aberdeen-Glasgow/Edinburgh are most definitely IC services!

Hard to know what the definition is these days.

Are all Transpennine services Intercity? Cardiff - Portsmouth? Liverpool - Norwich? London - Brighton?Liverpool - Birmingham? Cardiff - Manchester? Marylebone - Snow Hill? The "ex Central Trains" routes now at Cross Country?

There's certainly not a "Clear cut" definition any more. If you say "hot food" then this disqualifies a lot of former-intercity routes. Seat reservations? 2-1 seating in First Class (rather than just 2-2 seats with head-rests)? Free wifi? Where do you draw the line...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Yes indeed, it was a tongue in cheek post, as the train was mid morning and hardly going to be full of commuters anyway!

No bother, I'm just astounded that Voyagers are so wasteful of space that they have so few seats that I like to repeat the fact where possible

 

[MCR247]

I'd say:
InterCity - East Coast/WCML etc
Interregional - Liverpool - Norwich, GQS - EDB, aberdeen - edinburgh/glasgow etc
and then you have suburban and commuter trains etc

But unfortunately, its not that simple

 

[GingerSte]

No bother, I'm just astounded that Voyagers are so wasteful of space that they have so few seats that I like to repeat the fact where possible

I thought that Arriva were going to make some inroads into this when they removed the shop (for better or worse), but they just put massive luggage racks in instead. I don't think I've ever seen it full. It doesn't seem to have solved the problem of the other luggage racks being over-full.

Now if they put a little check-box on their booking system for large/lots of luggage, and gave those people preference next the shop/large luggage rack, and also encouraged other travellers with large luggage to do the same (through tannoy announcements and customer information screens at stations), they could make much better use of them. They might be able to get an extra pair of seats in the other carriages.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I would say that InterCity services are the core XC routes (Edinburgh/Manchester-Birmingham-Bournemouth/Plymouth), FGW’s Paddington-Worcester/Bristol TM/Swansea/Plymouth/Penzance, and NXEA’s Liverpool St-Norwich, and all of VT and EC services. I'm also tempted to say GC, Hull Trains and WSMR.

Inter-regional are Chiltern services from Birmingham/Banbury-London, SWT from Waterloo-Exeter, Portsmouth and Weymouth, Northern's Blackpool N-York, all TPE services, EMT's Liverpool Lime St-Norwich, SR's Glasgow/Edinburgh-Aberdeen and Inverness, and London Midland’s Trent Valley, Euston-Birmingham and Birmingham-Liverpool trains.

I would say that all other services (most of SR, FGW, LM etc, and all of c2c, SE, MR etc) are suburban/commuter, or just fall short of Inter-Regional: not too sure about SE HS though.

Back to XC, why don’t they manage any stations, even when they are exclusive operators, such as Coleshill Parkway, Hinckley and Stamford?

 

[Geezertronic]

Do have any suggestions then, as to where such stock is ?

After all that, leasing existing stock (if available) may work out cheaper?

Does that help?

 

[mumrar]

The problem with the luggage areas is passenger's insecurity. Some people will sit close enough to carry out an assault on their luggage at all costs, to the point of standing if required when seats are empty. Nobody had a problem leaving their luggage at the end of a mk1/2/3/4 coach, but they won't do it on Voyagers and Turbos etc.

 

[87015]

The problem with the luggage areas is passenger's insecurity. Some people will sit close enough to carry out an assault on their luggage at all costs, to the point of standing if required when seats are empty. Nobody had a problem leaving their luggage at the end of a mk1/2/3/4 coach, but they won't do it on Voyagers and Turbos etc.

Something to do with the high seats making it far harder to have line of sight down the coach on Voyagers/GW refurb HSTs and the like I'd say, certainly something I have in mind if with luggage which doesn't go up top.

 

[tbtc]

Something to do with the high seats making it far harder to have line of sight down the coach on Voyagers/GW refurb HSTs and the like I'd say, certainly something I have in mind if with luggage which doesn't go up top.

Possibly also to do with luggage being more "pinchable" these days - given all the electronic gadgets etc people have with them.

I'd rather sit with my bag on my knee than put it out of sight...

 

[Class 33]

Was surprised today to see a Cross Country HST running into Bristol Parkway at 1310. Was this working the 1300 Bristol Temple Meads-Manchester(which is normally a Voyager)? I didn't know if this was an in service train or not.

 

[Anvil1984]

Sorry have I missed something are you saying you surprised that a Voyager operated service was a Voyager or do you mean hst / 170

 

[Class 33]

My mistake. Yes I meant to say I was suprised to see a Cross County HST at that time today.

 

[DarloRich]

My dislike of XC has been increased by my recent interaction with their "service"

Friday 5th November MKC-DAR. Nice start to a journey 1625 off MKC to BHM a busy but not packed Pendolino, at least 15 late into BHM but still in enough time to make my connection. Through the hell that is Birmingham New Street Station on a Friday evening to platform 9 to see an already rammed and standing Voyager (220027) forming the 1730 to Edinburgh (from Plymouth) But everything will be ok, seat 50a in coach C has my name on it. But what is this there is a gentleman sat there, when asked to move he said it was his seat, produced an identical reservation slip to mine for exactly the same journey, whilst we were discussing this a lady came along with a third reservation for the same seat between Birmingham and Sheffield! Possession being 9/10s of the law the gentleman retained his seat while I stood/slumped next top the first class entrance and toilet! Lovely smell! Finally got a seat, opposite the luggage mountain(which appeared to want to fall on me at all times) at Doncaster! I spent most of the journey mentally composing threatening/abusive letters to the XC chief executive!

THAT is why I hate XC. A tiny, useless train, massively overcrowded with f*!k all facilities! Oh and it stunk of excrement - I don’t pay £90+ to lean on a piece of plastic wall cladding next to a massive pooh holder thank you very much!

PS Mr Cooper - perhaps if you cashed in a bit of your no doubt "comfortable" bonus you and your top team might realise how poor your XC company is and how unhappy many passengers are - or you will no doubt just keep milking them for everything you can while banging on about company values such as "excellent service" and providing a basic, crappy, terrible, uncomfortable service for the highest fare you can get away
with!

 

[Damien1986]

Crosscountry should bring back the buffet car as a trolley is just not adequte on journey lasting more than 2 hours eg. Aberdeen to Penzance,Glasgow to Plymouth,Glasgow to Newquay,Aberdeen to Plymouth!

 

[tbtc]

Crosscountry should bring back the buffet car as a trolley is just not adequte on journey lasting more than 2 hours eg. Aberdeen to Penzance,Glasgow to Plymouth,Glasgow to Newquay,Aberdeen to Plymouth!

Do you know what proportion of Cross Country passengers are actually travelling from Aberdeen to Plymouth?

 

[Ferret]

Do you know what proportion of Cross Country passengers are actually travelling from Aberdeen to Plymouth?

Next to 0%. But many travel on the Voyagers for 4-5 hours (say a Leeds-Exeter length journey) - and the forthcoming reintroduction of hot food will be most welcome for those people.

 

[brompton rail]

What re-introduction of hot food? How would it be heated and how would it be served in Standard Class? After all the "choice" in First is not huge! Would Sir like a bacon roll or nothing?

 

[tbtc]

Next to 0%. But many travel on the Voyagers for 4-5 hours (say a Leeds-Exeter length journey) - and the forthcoming reintroduction of hot food will be most welcome for those people.

Similarly, many many people struggle to find a seat or space for luggage on Voyagers, and getting rid of seats/ luggage space/ standing space will not be welcomed.

 

[Ferret]

What re-introduction of hot food? How would it be heated and how would it be served in Standard Class? After all the "choice" in First is not huge! Would Sir like a bacon roll or nothing?

The one that we'll see in the coming weeks Gawd knows how the service flow will work - but there's a microwave at each end of the train....

 

[route:oxford]

Friday 5th November MKC-DAR. Nice start to a journey 1625 off MKC to BHM a busy but not packed Pendolino, at least 15 late into BHM but still in enough time to make my connection. Through the hell that is Birmingham New Street Station on a Friday evening to platform 9 to see an already rammed and standing Voyager (220027) forming the 1730 to Edinburgh (from Plymouth) But everything will be ok, seat 50a in coach C has my name on it. But what is this there is a gentleman sat there, when asked to move he said it was his seat, produced an identical reservation slip to mine for exactly the same journey, whilst we were discussing this a lady came along with a third reservation for the same seat between Birmingham and Sheffield! Possession being 9/10s of the law the gentleman retained his seat while I stood/slumped next top the first class entrance and toilet! Lovely smell! Finally got a seat, opposite the luggage mountain(which appeared to want to fall on me at all times) at Doncaster! I spent most of the journey mentally composing threatening/abusive letters to the XC chief executive!

Very silly.

Instead of mentally composing abusive letters to XC, you should have been thing pro-actively.

"Am I and my fellow seat-bookers normal, "middle-class" and photogenic?"

No?

Continue mentally composing that letter...

Yes?

Take a few mobile-phone snaps of the heaving carriage, and see if you can obtain a contact number/address for the other two who should have been sitting on the seat (point out the potential financial reward). Take a photo of their reservation ticket if you can. Then phone "The Daily Mail". You'll get a 2 page spread, £500 each and a ticket refund with grovelling apology from the chief exec.

 

[DarloRich]

Very silly.

Instead of mentally composing abusive letters to XC, you should have been thing pro-actively.

"Am I and my fellow seat-bookers normal, "middle-class" and photogenic?"

No?

Continue mentally composing that letter...

Yes?

Take a few mobile-phone snaps of the heaving carriage, and see if you can obtain a contact number/address for the other two who should have been sitting on the seat (point out the potential financial reward). Take a photo of their reservation ticket if you can. Then phone "The Daily Mail". You'll get a 2 page spread, £500 each and a ticket refund with grovelling apology from the chief exec.

All ready in hand - i have dispatched the pictures to the relevant authorities - with a nice (non abusive) letter of complaint However my principles prevent me from even contemplating the letter to the Daily Mail (always useful to carry your camera)

the mental composistion of abusive letters is simply to make me feel better!

In fainess (as i said in the letter) the on train staff did there best in difficult circumstances and were a credit to XC. I took thier names and suggested they be congratualted for dealing with lots of annoyed passengers.

 

[Zoe]

Indeed what the hell would we do with all the spare time we would have, if Voyagers had been built to a sensible length

Underfloor engines are not great on a long journey but as discussed elsewhere, they were the only option at the time.