Rail industry joins forces to build back a better service for passengers

Long distance train company, CrossCountry, and infrastructure operator, Network Rail, are joining forces to deliver a reliable experience for rail users across the Britain’s railway.

‘West Midlands and North West’ has become the first of CrossCountry’s four regions to sign a Joint Performance Commitment with the three Network Rail routes making up its operations between Birmingham and Manchester. These new contracts are designed to build on Network Rail’s ‘Putting Passengers First’ vision and incorporating CrossCountry’s ambition to be the long-distance operator that customers trust.

The contract commits both to maintaining the principles of safety and performance while delivering a consistent, high quality service for passengers by getting the basics right first time. This will be achieved by greater transparency and sharing of information, recognising when things go well, and learning from when they don’t to help build the 21^st century railway experience passengers can rely on.

CrossCountry West Midlands and North West Regional Director, John Robson said, “It’s important the industry collaborates to look at everything as a whole. Building on these strong partnerships is set to improve the way the railway runs and reduce passenger impact keeping safety at the heart of what we do.”

Dave Penney, Network Rail’s Central route director, said: “With the majority of CrossCountry services travelling through Birmingham New Street, it’s vital that we work together to provide passengers across Britain with the best possible level of service. This Joint Performance Commitment will bring both organisations even closer together to make sure we really are putting passengers first.”

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West Director said, “This commitment builds on the work already done with John and CrossCountry over the past few months. Today lays the firm foundations in place to embed the work already done in the North West with clear expectations for the future.”

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coat Mainline South said, “Signing the Joint Performance Commitment with CrossCountry marks a step change in our collective approach as an industry. Working together will further the Build Back Better message which is being embedded into the railway.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

CrossCountry’s network is the most geographically-extensive passenger rail franchise in Britain. Stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Stansted to Cardiff, it calls at over 100 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of the Britain’s 10 largest cities and delivers 298 services every weekday, equating to some 40 million passenger journeys a year.

For further information on CrossCountry services visit crosscountrytrains.co.uk or follow them online via Twitter at @crosscountryuk or Facebook.com/crosscountrytrains

CrossCountry is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe. Arriva employs over 53,000 people and delivers over 2 billion passenger journeys across 14 European countries each year

Contact Information

CrossCountry Press Office: [email protected]

About CrossCountry

CrossCountry is a long-distance passenger train operator, with a network stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Stansted to Cardiff and calling at over 100 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of Britain’s 10 largest cities and delivers 240 services every weekday, equating to over 42 million passenger journeys each year.

For further information on CrossCountry services, visit crosscountrytrains.co.uk or visit one of our social media platforms via X @crosscountryuk or Facebook at facebook.com/crosscountrytrains