Our plans
How we intend to improve our services.
The CrossCountry franchise began on 11 November 2007 and since then we have been working to ensure that journeys with us are as relaxing and comfortable as possible.
Many improvements have already been made; however, we will continue to strive for excellence by listening to what our customers tell us they want. Here’s an idea of just some of the ways we plan to make changes to improve your journey.
Better trains, more trains, more space, increased services
Customers tell us that getting a seat is their top priority and work to refresh every one of our trains to provide more seats has already begun. When completed, our trains will have comfortable new interiors with 35% more seating space and 25% extra luggage space across the entire fleet.
In addition to the refurbishment of the current fleet, we have invested in five High Speed Trains (HSTs) to increase capacity on the popular North-East to South-West route. The extra trains mean that we are able to provide additional services between Edinburgh and Reading, Bournemouth and Newcastle, and Penzance and Manchester.
Our new timetable, launched in December 2008 provides many benefits, including faster journey times, clock-faced departures and additional late evening services to and from Stansted Airport.
Better service
We will begin introducing an at-seat catering service in 2009 providing hot and cold refreshments appropriate to the time of day; this is because customers have told us that they would prefer to have refreshments delivered to them at their seats.
Innovative technologies
We are working to make the most of new technologies with the introduction of e-ticketing in November 2008 allowing customers to book online Advance purchase tickets that they are able to print at home; in addition, the m-ticket, launched, in January 2009, which is being trialled between York and Edinburgh allows customers to have tickets sent to their mobile phone and avoid queues at ticket offices completely.
Our website has been redesigned to make online booking straightforward and simple, with the facility for customers to book tickets, reserve seats online for free and find the best available fares.
Over the course of the franchise we will continue to use developments in technology to make travel more convenient for customers; our staff will be equipped with handheld PDAs allowing them to provide passengers with real time information about stations and connecting transport services.
Customer service
Great customer service is key to our franchise, we know that happy employees are better at their jobs and we consult with our staff regularly on a wide range of issues, from new uniforms to improvements to the service; frontline staff are best placed to comment on improvements to the service because of their interactions with customers.
Each year we run a programme of stakeholder activities across England, Scotland and Wales to engage with service users, transport officials and anyone who is interested in knowing a little more about CrossCountry. We use these events to consult on timetable changes and receive feedback on the services we provide. If you would like to attend a stakeholder forum then please email: communications@crosscountrytrains.co.uk
Greener railway
We are committed to green ways of working wherever possible and have introduced specific measures to ensure environmentally friendly ways of working.
We train staff in environmentally-friendly ways of working both on board and in our offices, we aim to reduce onboard waste and increase recycling, we co-operate with the industry on environmental initiatives such as plans to develop alternative fuels and we encourage customers to take more journeys by rail by providing more trains with more seats.
Safety first
We want you to feel safe when you’re travelling with us, that’s why we are introducing a new 'Secure Trains Scheme' to give you confidence about your on-board security, working with our industry partners to extend Secure Station Accreditation across key calling points and employing additional security staff.