Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 16:35 28 Mar 2024
* Passengers pleaded with knifeman during attack
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
- Jet2 launches first flight from Liverpool airport
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1988)
Formal end to carrying coffins by BR (link)

Train RunningCancelled
15:16 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
15:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
16:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
16:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:04 Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood
17:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
17:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
Short Run
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
13:28 Weymouth to Gloucester
15:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
15:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
16:19 Carmarthen to London Paddington
16:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
Delayed
13:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
13:59 Cardiff Central to Penzance
14:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
17:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 16:35:43 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[142] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[80] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[56] Return of the BRUTE?
[46] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[43] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[34] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: 'New' destinations for Cross Country services*  (Read 3013 times)
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10095


View Profile
« on: August 07, 2018, 21:28:51 »

* Temporarily at least!

During the Derby blockade the Southampton/Reading to Newcastle hourly axis of XC (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) is altered so the trains are extended further afield.  Destinations such as Edinburgh and Glasgow are available several times a day with a Dundee, Aberdeen and Leeds services thrown in for good measure.

So, you can now go direct from Oxford to Aberdeen, Reading to Dundee, Southampton to Inverkeithing, or even escape the humdrum life of Aberdeen for a glamorous weekend break in Guildford (though you'd have to change on the way back for that one!).

Many of these destinations have at one point in time been served by direct trains, and it's nice to see them back - if only for a couple of months.  Some might say Cross Country was made for such a mix of direct services rather than frequent direct links to a more limited number of destinations.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18894



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2018, 21:44:03 »

What's happened is the services to and from Reading/Guildford/South Coast have taken the paths north of Birmingham that are usually used by services on the SW/NE corridor.

That was the easiest solution for XC (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) to maintain as many services across their network as possible. It does mean a change at Brum for those who'd usually travel on the SW/NE corridor
« Last Edit: August 08, 2018, 10:23:07 by bignosemac » Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2018, 21:51:29 »

... escape the humdrum life of Aberdeen for a glamorous weekend break in Guildford  ...

Nicey but pricey! (though I suppose 28p per minute isn't all that bad!)



£183.50 - Anytime single, any permitted route
£184.60 - Advanced single, this train only
£189.50 - Anytime single via Banbury

An excellent piece of logic which I'm sure our fares guru can explain!

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
rogerw
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1336



View Profile
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2018, 22:06:26 »

Typical Cross Country fares
Logged

I like to travel.  It lets me feel I'm getting somewhere.
ellendune
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4452


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2018, 22:09:56 »

Typical Cross Country fares

Look a lot better per mile than Swindon Paddington
Logged
PhilWakely
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 2007



View Profile
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2018, 08:03:32 »

... escape the humdrum life of Aberdeen for a glamorous weekend break in Guildford  ...

Nicey but pricey! (though I suppose 28p per minute isn't all that bad!)



£183.50 - Anytime single, any permitted route
£184.60 - Advanced single, this train only
£189.50 - Anytime single via Banbury

An excellent piece of logic which I'm sure our fares guru can explain!



I wouldn't fancy paying 28p per minute - although I guess, these fares aren't that far short.
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2018, 08:54:18 »

I assume the Any Permitted Route includes via London on LNER» (London North Eastern Railway - about)?....
Logged
Richard Fairhurst
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1204


View Profile Email
« Reply #7 on: August 08, 2018, 10:47:13 »

A pleasant surprise the other week when I had a meeting in Burton-on-Trent and could get direct trains there and back from Oxford. Especially so because the loadings were significantly less than usual for CrossCountry, so I could actually get a table and do some work, never mind a seat.
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page