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Cross Country Route
A CrossCountry Class 221 Super Voyager departing from Bristol Temple Meads in 2010
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Termini	York Bristol Temple Meads
Stations	48
Service
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail, Inter-city rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	CrossCountry (principal operator) East Midlands Railway Great Western Railway Northern Trains TransPennine Express West Midlands Trains
Rolling stock	Class 170 Turbostar Class 220 Voyager Class 221 Super Voyager
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Partial 25 kV AC OHLE, from Bromsgrove to Birmingham New Street, Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate to Neville Hill TMD, Colton Junction to York In progress: Colton Junction to Church Fenton
Operating speed	Up to 125 mph (200 km/h) maximum, some sections limited to 100 mph (160 km/h)
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Cross Country Route
Legend
East Coast Main Line & North TransPennine North TransPennine & York–Scarborough line York (old) York National Railway Museum East Coast Main Line former route Copmanthorpe East Coast Main Line Bolton Percy Ulleskelf Church Fenton to Wetherby line Church Fenton Hull to York line Selby Line Dearne Valley line Micklefield East Garforth Garforth Cross Gates–Wetherby line Cross Gates Osmondthorpe Neville Hill TMD Hunslet branch line Marsh Lane Leeds Hallam Line & Pontefract line Leeds Central Airedale line & Harrogate line Calder Valley line Huddersfield line & North TransPennine Huddersfield line Beeston Great Northern Railway Ardsley East and West Yorkshire Union Railway Outwood Methley Joint Rly Great Northern Railway Wakefield Westgate W'd Kirkgate Hallam Line Sandal and Agbrigg Midland Main Line Pontefract line Hare Park & Crofton Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly Great Central Railway Nostell Fitzwilliam Hemsworth Hull and Barnsley Railway Dearne Valley line Wakefield line Moorthorpe Frickley Thurnscoe Hull and Barnsley Railway Dearne Valley Railway Goldthorpe Hull and Barnsley Railway Bolton-upon-Dearne Midland Main Line Great Central Railway Swinton–Doncaster line Swinton Kilnhurst West Great Central Railway Aldwarke Corus steelyard Parkgate and Rawmarsh Rotherham Parkgate Rotherham Masborough Rotherham Central Rotherham Westgate (S&R) C F Booth scrapyard Great Central Railway Midland Main Line (former route) Holmes Great Central Railway Hallam Line & Penistone Line Meadowhall Interchange Brightside Sheffield District Railway Upwell Street Wharf Brightside Wharf Sheffield Wicker │ Attercliffe Road Stocksbridge Line Sheffield–Lincoln line Sheffield Heeley Millhouses and Ecclesall Beauchief Dore & Totley Hope Valley line & South TransPennine Dronfield Unstone Nesfield branch line Sheepbridge Great Central Railway Midland Main Line (former route) Chesterfield Chesterfield Market Place Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway Great Central Railway Clay Cross Derwent Valley line Clay Cross Tunnel Stretton Ashover Light Railway Wingfield Ambergate–Pye Bridge line Derwent Valley line Ambergate Belper Duffield Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Ripley branch line GNR Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension Derby Nottingham Road Chaddesden Sidings │ Midland Main Line Derby Midland Main Line Derby Litchurch Lane Works Ramsline Halt Peartree Sinfin branch line Castle Donington line Willington Power Station Crewe–Derby line Willington GNR Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension Horninglow Wharf Burton-on-Trent Mosley Street Burton-on-Trent freight lines Leicester–Burton upon Trent line Branston Barton and Walton Central Rivers TMD South Staffordshire line Croxall Elford Tamworth West Coast Main Line Wilnecote Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal Kingsbury Birmingham–Peterborough line Birmingham & Derby Junction Rly Water Orton Sutton Park line Castle Bromwich Bromford Bridge Washwood Heath Yard Stechford to Aston line Saltley Lawley Street Freightliner depot Saltley Scrapyard Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line Camp Hill line Cross-City Line & Chase Line Proof House Junction Birmingham Curzon Street Chiltern Main Line & Snow Hill lines Birmingham New Street Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line Central Goods Granville Street Five Ways Church Road Somerset Road University Selly Oak Cadbury Railway and Wharf Bournville Camp Hill line Lifford Wharf branch Kings Norton Northfield Longbridge Halesowen Railway Barnt Green Cross-City Line – Gloucester loop line Blackwell Lickey Incline Bromsgrove Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line Dunhampstead Spetchley Worcester Shrub Hill Worcestershire Parkway Cotswold Line to Oxford Wadborough Besford Defford Eckington Bredon Gloucester loop line Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway MoD Ashchurch Ashchurch for Tewkesbury Cleeve Cheltenham High Street Cheltenham Spa Gloucestershire Warwickshire Rly Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway Churchdown Gloucester–Newport line Gloucester Yard Gloucester Eastgate Haresfield Golden Valley line Stonehouse (Bristol Road) Stonehouse & Nailsworth Rly Frocester Cam and Dursley (Coaley Junction 1856-1965) Dursley & Midland Junction Rly Berkeley Road Sharpness branch line Charfield Wickwar Thornbury branch line Yate South Wales Main Line Westerleigh Oil depot Bristol and Gloucester Railway Coalpit Heath Winterbourne Bristol Parkway Stoke Gifford depot South Wales Main Line Henbury Loop Line Filton Filton Junction Filton Abbey Wood Horfield Ashley Hill Bristol and Gloucester Railway Severn Beach line Stapleton Gas Works Stapleton Road Bristol and Gloucester Railway Lawrence Hill Bristol and Gloucester Railway Bristol Barton Hill TMD │ Great Western Main Line Bristol Harbour Railway Bristol Temple Meads Bristol–Exeter line

The Cross Country Route is a long-distance railway route in England, which runs from Bristol Temple Meads to York via Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield and Leeds or Doncaster. Inter-city services on the route, which include some of the longest passenger journeys in the UK such as Aberdeen to Penzance, are operated by CrossCountry.

It is classed as a high-speed line because its sections from Birmingham to Wakefield Westgate and from Leeds to York have a speed limit of 125 mph (200 km/h); however, the section from Birmingham to Bristol is limited to 100 mph (160 km/h) because of numerous level crossings, especially half-barrier level crossings, and the section from Wakefield to Leeds has the same limit because of a number of curves.

History

The Birmingham–Bristol section was built as the Birmingham and Gloucester and Bristol and Gloucester Railways before joining the Midland Railway, the southern forerunner to the cross-country route. From Birmingham to the north-northeast, the line had three separately owned sections, namely the:

• Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to Derby, thence the
• North Midland Railway to Leeds, thence the
• York and North Midland Railway.

From the Labour Government's nationalisation in 1948 until privatisation in 1990, the route ran through all six regions of British Rail but did not have timetabling priority in any of them. Therefore the services were poorly promoted and thus not always well-patronised.

Most Derby–Nottingham local passenger trains were taken over by diesel units from 14 April 1958, taking about 34 minutes between the two cities.

In the 1990s most services were operated by British Rail's InterCity business unit. As part of the privatisation of British Rail, these were taken over by Virgin CrossCountry in 1997, with the Class 47 hauled Mark 2 and High Speed Train sets replaced by Class 220 and Class 221 diesel multiple units in the early 2000s.

The use of the route for freight has decreased, because of the bulk of haulage switching to roads and the building of the M5, M6 and M1 motorways.

Abortive British Rail proposals for complete electrification

In the 1960s the route was considered for electrification. In the early 1980s, electrification was again discussed at length and documentation for various proposals was produced in 1981. This would have been particularly beneficial for climbing the Lickey Incline between Cheltenham and Birmingham, as many of the early diesels were under-powered. In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options that included electrifying the cross-country route by 2000. Under the governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government, the proposal was not implemented.

Route

The route is well connected, and aside from its own alignment it uses parts of the South Wales Main Line, Midland Main Line, Swinton–Doncaster line, and the East Coast Main Line. Major cities and towns served along the route include:

• Bristol
• Cheltenham
• Birmingham
• Tamworth
• Derby
• Sheffield
• Leeds
• York

Nominal start-point at Derby

Milepost zero for the main predecessor Derby to Bristol route has always been Derby, hence a train travelling the whole route starts out going "up" then becomes "down". The Birmingham to Derby section of the route has a line speed of 125 mph (200 km/h), while Birmingham to Bristol is restricted to 100 mph (160 km/h) because of a number of half-barrier level crossings.

Electrification

The line is not fully electrified, but some sections are overhead electrified at 25 kV AC such as Bromsgrove to Grand Junction, with further electrified sections around Leeds and the East Coast Main Line near York. Network Rail stated in 2014 that the line between Derby and Sheffield would be electrified as part of the Midland Main Line upgrade. However, the electrification programme was severely cut back in July 2017. As of 2023, Network Rail is working on the section between York and Church Fenton. The rest of the section between Leeds and York has electrification planned as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which itself is part of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands. This plan also includes full Midland Main Line electrification and upgrades.

Electrification between Westerleigh Junction (near Yate, Gloucestershire) and Bristol Temple Meads was planned as part of the 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, but as of 2024 work has yet to progress beyond Filton East Curve, south-west of Bristol Parkway.

Services

Most long-distance services on the route are operated by Class 220/221 Voyagers, although a few services, until recently, operated using High Speed Trains. These trains are capable of achieving 125 mph (200 km/h), compared to the previous Class 47s and Mk 2 coaching stock, which had a top speed of 95 mph (150 km/h).

See also

• CrossCountry
• Rail services in the West of England
• Tees–Exe line
• Transport in Wales
• Virgin CrossCountry

Notes

1. Briefly amalgamated as the Birmingham and Bristol Railway

References

1. The Railway Magazine. June 1958. p. 432. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Virgin says farewell to 47s with Penzance – Derby trip". Rail Magazine. No. 443. 4 September 2002. p. 16.
3. "CrossCountry HSTs bow out". The Railway Magazine. No. 1230. October 2003. p. 84.
4. "1981 Railway archive" (PDF). 1981.
5. Railway Electrification. British Railways Board (Central Publicity Unit). Winter 1979. pp. 0–2, 8.
6. "First electric train travels between Birmingham and Bromsgrove". Global Railway Review. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
7. "Midland Mainline improvement programme". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
8. "Rail electrification plans scrapped". BBC News. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
9. "York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme". Network Rail. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
10. Haigh, Philip (14 December 2011). "£290m to wire York-Manchester trans-Pennine route". Rail Magazine. No. 685. pp. 8–9.
11. "Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands" (PDF). UK Government. 18 November 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021.

• Railway lines in the East Midlands
• Railway lines in South West England
• Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber
• Railway lines in the West Midlands (region)
• Main inter-regional railway lines in Great Britain