Crosscountry trains - HST or Voyager?

[whole diary]

[James Vertigan]

I am booked to travel from Chesterfield to Newton Abbot on the 12:06 Crosscountry service on the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday (29th April). I am interested to find out whether I will get a Voyager or an HST^▸ (High Speed Train). Looking at the booked seat I have been given (seat 6 coach A - window seat in First Class) and checking CrossCountry's online train seating plans, it would seem to suggest the service will be run by an HST.

Would anyone on here be able to confirm? (I understand if it's probably a little early at the moment!) I don't know whether XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) have more Voyagers than HSTs but whenever I've been down in Devon I'm sure I've seen more XC Voyagers than HSTs.

[JayMac]

According to the booking engine, you are indeed booked onto one of CrossCountry's HST^▸ (High Speed Train) sets.

CrossCountry only have 5 HST sets versus 57 Vomiter units!

[James Vertigan]

According to the booking engine, you are indeed booked onto one of CrossCountry's HST^▸ (High Speed Train) sets.

CrossCountry only have 5 HST sets versus 57 Vomiter units!

Ha! What are the odds! 

Will be interesting to see if they stick to their promise and an HST is scheduled for that trip!

[paul7575]

The odds are better than you might think, based on the numbers 'BNM'' posted.

If you divide the main XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) network into four routes, ie  Scotland/NE - Devon/Cornwall, Man Picc - Bristol, Man Picc - Bournemouth, and Newcastle - Reading, their Voyagers go everywhere, but the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) only do the first route. 

Then there are four southbound to Plymouth in the morning, and four northbound from Plymouth in the afternoon - so if your journey fits those times of day it'll usually be about 50/50, I think.  Furthermore, the services that are formed of HSTs are not random, they are the same every day, as shown in FGWs^▸ (First Great Western) timetable books (but not XC's)... 

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

So, at the moment, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) have four daily diagrams for their five HST^▸ (High Speed Train) sets?  This is good news - I thought during the week a few were being left in the sidings?

[JayMac]

Current Mon-Fri diagrams here:

http://www.thejunction.org.uk/diagr.html

[James Vertigan]

Furthermore, the services that are formed of HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) are not random, they are the same every day, as shown in FGWs^▸ (First Great Western) timetable books (but not XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))'s)...

Ah... didn't realise that! Until I looked into my seating/coach allocation I had assumed it would probably be a Voyager, but would be dependant on what was available set-wise on the day, though I do remember FGW always used to indicate Adelante services in their timetable and EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about) currently show when Meridian trains are to be used.

[paul7575]

So, at the moment, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) have four daily diagrams for their five HST^▸ (High Speed Train) sets?  This is good news - I thought during the week a few were being left in the sidings?

It changed in December - some people reckon because of the Southampton extensions, but I reckon that single unit per day requirement was met by no longer running a mid-day double Voyager on the Man - Bournemouth service.  Whatever the reason, they'll definitely all be needed from the May TT change, as the transfer of most Edinburgh - Glasgow ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) services to XC also requires more Voyagers.

Paul

[laird]

While you might not want to proceed with the booking through the cross country website, I once used it to look at the seating layout on a particular service by pretending I was going to make a booking, that confirmed the service I was contemplating was a HST^▸ (High Speed Train).
Admitdely the CrossCountry seat selection part of the website isn't the most reliable as sometimes it just simply won't load but when it does you can see whether it is a 4 car voyager or something else.
I suspect the fifth car is always missing because it is not reservable in case a Voyager substitutes for a Super Voyager. Also I've never tried booking on a double set, do Cross Country allow reservations in coaches G onwards?

[James Vertigan]

I should also explain I booked this journey through TheTrainLine rather than XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))'s site as I also needed to book a journey from NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) a few days later, but then I suppose I could have booked the whole lot through XC's site as it's the National Rail booking system.

[JayMac]

Indeed you could have, and saved yourself booking, postage and card fees. 

[IndustryInsider]

It changed in December - some people reckon because of the Southampton extensions, but I reckon that single unit per day requirement was met by no longer running a mid-day double Voyager on the Man - Bournemouth service.  Whatever the reason, they'll definitely all be needed from the May TT change, as the transfer of most Edinburgh - Glasgow ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) services to XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) also requires more Voyagers.

That's good news.  I thought it pretty scandalous on such a busy franchise that all available stock wasn't in daily service, and I'm sure that they've added some much needed capacity on the routes through the SW.  Doesn't stop me wincing when I see a 4-car Voyager turn up on one of the busier services from Bournemouth or for the 13:46 Southampton to Edinburgh on a Friday afternoon though!

[James Vertigan]

Indeed you could have, and saved yourself booking, postage and card fees. 

Well I saved myself postage, by picking all my tickets up at Paddington station!   

[bobm]

I always use the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site for tickets - they don't charge extra for anything.

[grahame]

I thought it pretty scandalous on such a busy franchise that all available stock wasn't in daily service ...

Of course Cross Country aren't the only ones.  Lisa and I travelled on an early afternoon Chippenham to Paddington service on Sunday last ... a 125 that was so deparetly overcrowded when it pulled in that I wondered if we were going to be able to board, even though I had taken the precaution of booking seats.



Bristol to London is only hourly on Sunday, and I calculate that means that 4 x HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) are parked up rather than being in service.  South Wales to London is also only hourly, so that's a further 4 sets.  And the Cheltenhams don't start until very late in the day.  So by my working, that's at least 10 trains not in service at a time when overcrowding is rife, week in and week out.

Now here's the next leg of our journey:



Mark III carriages again, but rather better space, plenty of tables more comfortable seats, Wifi, and a half hourly service.  It's not all a one way street - these carriages looked a bit tired compared to the Chippenham to Paddington ones, and there were no power points at the seats.