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Awards success for pushing the boundaries of technology and sustainability

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At the first ever UK Rail Industry Awards, CrossCountry's work to help customers plan and book their rail journeys for the cheapest price was awarded the prize for Mobile Technology; and the company's new traincrew accommodation at Birmingham New Street "The Lamp Block" was awarded the prize for Environmental & Sustainability.

Over the last five years CrossCountry has been leading Britain's rail industry in developing new technology to make rail travel easier and cheaper for customers. CrossCountry now offers customers a smartphone App that provides full journey information and ticket retailing services; industry-leading systems to purchase Advance tickets and reserve seats on a CrossCountry train up to ten minutes before its departure from any station during its journey; m-tickets that can be sent straight to a mobile phone and e-tickets that customers can print off at home or work to avoid queuing at stations.

The Lamp Block traincrew accommodation and offices at Birmingham New Street were developed in partnership with Network Rail as part of the station redevelopment, and offer a truly eco-friendly workplace in the city centre. The state-of-the-art accommodation features solar panels and thermal tubes to reduce energy use; a building management system to monitor and optimise power use to demand; attenuation tanks to preserve rainwater; and a roof covered with low-maintenance plants and grass to improve drainage.

CrossCountry's managing director, Andy Cooper, said: "These wins are further recognition of the good work of so many people at CrossCountry.  The Lamp Block set new standards and shows how railway accommodation can be both functional and environmentally friendly, and our harnessing technology has made real improvements for customers to help them plan and book their journeys with us."

Notes to editors

CrossCountry

CrossCountry started operating on 11 November 2007. The franchise, which is the most extensive in the UK, will run until 31 March 2016. For further information on CrossCountry services and future franchise plans log on to crosscountrytrains.co.uk.

CrossCountry is part of the Arriva group, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn. Arriva is a leading pan-European public transport operators with more than 42,000 employees and operations across 12 European countries. The link to Arriva is www.arriva.co.uk. The link to Deutsche Bahn is deutschebahn.com.

Like CrossCountry on Facebook at facebook.com/crosscountrytrains.

Follow CrossCountry on Twitter via twitter.com/crosscountryuk.

CrossCountry bookings

Passengers can buy tickets for any rail journey in Britain, with any train company and with no booking fee at crosscountrytrains.co.uk or via the free CrossCountry Train Tickets app.Download the app by visiting your app store or by texting TRAVEL to 87080.

CrossCountry facts and figures

STATIONS SERVED: 119
ROUTE MILES: 1,490
WEEKDAY SERVICES: 295
PASSENGERS CARRIED: Over 30 million passenger journeys a year anticipated
ANNUAL TRAIN MILEAGE: Approximately 16 million
EMPLOYEES: Approximately 1,600
LONGEST TRAIN SERVICE: 08.20 Aberdeen to Penzance (774 miles)

Select this link to view the Press Release PDF

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