Virgin CrossCountry
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| Franchise(s): | Cross Country 1997 – 2007 (originally 2012) |
| Main route(s): | South and South West England - Midlands - Northern England and Scotland |
| Fleet size: | 34 Voyager and 44 Super Voyager sets |
| Stations called at: | Unknown |
| Parent company: | Virgin Trains |
Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in Great Britain, part of Virgin Trains, from January 1997 until 11 November 2007. The company's operations were former InterCity services centred on Birmingham New Street, operating across the country (but usually avoiding London).
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[edit] History
The franchise was the first of two awarded to Richard Branson's Virgin Group in 1997; the group later sold a 49% stake to the Stagecoach Group. The company inherited a fleet from British Rail which dated largely from the 1960s and 1970s. An important franchise commitment was the replacement of these trains, which happened in 2001 when the new Voyager and Super Voyager trains entered service.[citation needed] However, by this stage, the company had acquired a poor reputation for reliability with passengers[citation needed].
In September 2002, Virgin launched Operation Princess, a new timetable launched to coincide with its new trains, which were meant to solve the reliability problems blamed on the elderly rolling stock. However, the new trains suffered problems of their own[1], including technical problems, as well as being much smaller than their predecessors, which led to overcrowding. The new timetable proved difficult to operate[citation needed] and cutbacks to services were ordered by the government's Strategic Rail Authority[citation needed]. Some destinations, such as Liverpool Lime Street, Blackpool, Portsmouth and London Paddington, were eliminated from the Cross Country network altogether, while others (such as Gatwick Airport and Brighton)) saw considerable reductions in services. Many of these changes reversed some of Virgin's earlier expansions.[citation needed]
[edit] Fate
The Virgin Cross Country franchise finished on 11 November 2007 as part of reshuffle of franchises which primarily affected the Midlands.[2] A new CrossCountry franchise was created, incorporating the majority of Virgin's Cross Country services, along with some former Central Trains "Citylink"services. However, services between Birmingham New Street, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via the West Coast Main Line were transferred to the West Coast franchise, and thus continue to be operated by Virgin, while services between Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow and Edinburgh will be transferred to First TransPennine Express from December 2007.
The Department for Transport (DfT) announced on 19 September 2006 that four parties had pre-qualified for the new franchise, including Virgin[3]. On 10 July 2007, it was announced that Arriva had been awarded the Cross-Country franchise, from 11 November 2007 until April 2016[4]. Virgin sought an "early meeting with the DfT" in order to obtain an explanation for their bid being unsuccessful[5].
[edit] Final network
| Code | Route | |
|---|---|---|
| VT1 | South West of England through Birmingham to the North West and Scotland | |
| VT2 | South Coast through Birmingham to the North of England and Scotland | |
| VT3 | South West of England and South Wales through Birmingham to the North East of England and Scotland | |
[edit] Fleet
Latterly, the Virgin CrossCountry routes were operated by Class 220 Voyagers and Class 221 Super Voyagers. These were introduced in 2001 to replace the High Speed Train fleet that had been so successful at building passenger traffic on these routes, but was over 20 years old. They also replaced the elderly Class 47s and Class 86s. The principal differences between the Voyager and Super Voyager fleet are that the Super Voyager usually consists of five carriages rather than the Voyager's four, and like the Class 390 Pendolino can tilt when going around curves in order to allow higher speeds. This means that Super Voyager units have significantly more sophisticated bogies than Voyagers.
[edit] Original Fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Built | Withdrawn |
| Class 43 High Speed Train |  |
diesel locomotive | 1976 - 1982 | 2004 |
| Class 47 |  |
diesel locomotive | 1962 - 1968 | 2003 |
| Class 86 |  |
electric locomotive | 1965 - 1966 | 2003 |
| Class 158 Express Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 1989 - 1992 | 2001 |
| Mark 2 Coach |  |
Passenger Rolling stock | 1964 - 1975 | 2003 |
| Mark 3 Coach |  |
Passenger Rolling stock | 1975 - 1988 | 2004 |
[edit] Final Fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Built | Number |
| Class 220 Voyager |  |
Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit | 2001 | 34 |
| Class 221 Super Voyager |  |
Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit | 2001 | 44 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Simon Montague (November 19, 2002). Virgin's catalogue of misfortune. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
- ^ "Rail shake-up hits Virgin Trains", BBC News Online, 2005-10-18.
- ^ New Cross Country Franchise. Department for Transport.
- ^ "Virgin loses Cross Country rail", BBC News Online, 2007-07-10.
- ^ Virgin Rail Group disappointed at New Cross Country franchise decision. Virgin Trains (2007-07-10).
[edit] External links
| Preceded by InterCity As part of British Rail |
Operator of Cross Country franchise 1997 — 2007 |
Succeeded by CrossCountry |
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