CrossCountry Trains
Keeping you safe - latest travel advice
A big thank you for not travelling, you have helped keep our team safe and allowed us to ensure key workers can get to where they need to be.
We are working hard to ensure your safety as the country begins to get moving again.
We are running a reduced service, and ask you consider whether you can reach your destination using alternative transport, leaving our services clear for those who have no other option.
Go CrossCountry safely
Book before you travel
By introducing social distancing on-board, we’re only able to use approximately one quarter of the seats on our trains. So, to make this work for those still needing to travel, we ask that you book in advance and reserve a place on a specific train for your journey.
From today, when buying a ticket to travel with CrossCountry, sometimes you will no longer receive a specific seat reservation, but rest assured, you will have reserved a place on your selected train. For some journeys you may still be allocated a specific seat, but this may not be available on the day and we would ask you to use any free alternative while ensuring you keep a suitable distance from other passengers.
To reduce contact we could also encourage customers to select an E-ticket or M-ticket.
How to reserve your place
- Buy your ticket online via our website, mobile site or app and make a reservation at the same time as purchasing a ticket.
- You may not receive a specific seat number, and if that is the case, you can use any available seat in Standard or First Class depending on your choice of ticket.
- Places will be made available on a first-come-first-served basis, and when these are fully taken, you may have to use an alternative train for your journey
FAQs
Why have you made this change?
We have started asking all customers to reserve a place on their preferred train so we can closely monitor the numbers of people travelling and maintain social distancing on board. When all reservations are taken you would not be able to buy a ticket to board your chosen train.
How can I make a reservation?
You can reserve a seat when making your booking through our website or app. Alternatively, if you already have a valid ticket then you can contact our Customer Relations or Social Media teams who can help.
You can call our Customer Relations on 03447 369 123
or contact our Social Media team via Twitter @CrossCountryUK
What if I already have a reservation?
If you have already reserved a seat then your place on that train will still be available, although the seat number will not apply and you should use any free space.
I have a season ticket. How do I get my reservations?
If you’re a season ticket holder, you can get your reservation by contacting our Customer Relations on 03447 369 123 or via Twitter @CrossCountryUK, or from any staffed station.
I’m travelling with my family. Do we have to reserve individual seats or can we travel together?
You should still try to reserve, as on busier trains we could need to restrict travel if too many people attempt to board. However, if you are travelling as a family group then you may sit together if you wish instead of following social distancing.
Can I still book a place for my wheelchair?
Special care has been taken to ensure we are able to help those who may require support for their journeys. Please contact our Passenger Assist service as normal and they will be happy to help with the arrangements and any support you would like on your journey.
Check your train times - There have been some changes to our timetable as we continue to deliver a train service to ensure essential workers are able to travel. Where we can, we will introduce longer carriages but like all other modes of transport, our trains can only carry a small fraction of passengers they usually can while maintaining social distancing measures. For the reduced timetable information please see here.
Contactless bookings - Go online to book tickets & use contactless payments wherever possible. If you can do so, please use e-Tickets, your ticket will be sent straight to your phone. If using a Season ticket, please consider using a Smartcard
Looking after your health - Carry hand sanitiser, wash your hands before and after travelling. If you also have a face-covering available to you please wear it throughout your journey.
Consider travelling off-peak if you can. - To help us follow social distancing guidance, if you can travel at off peak times, this can help us carry everyone on board safely
Arrive early - Give yourself plenty of time at the station before your train arrives, as there may be directional signage set up at stations for you to follow to get to the right platform safely.
Please keep your distance when parking - We know that at some stations this could be difficult, but please try to park at a distance from other cars. This allows everyone to social distance from the moment they get out of their car.
Please keep your distance - When walking through the station please respect other people around you. Always maintain social distancing measures, including any escalators, lifts and seating at stations.
Respectful behaviour - Please respect station staff, who are there to help and guide you through your onward journey.
Buy your ticket in advance - If you have the means to do so, please buy your ticket in advance online.
Follow the signage - We are rolling out signage across our fleet to remind you and fellow passengers to stay safe and stay apart, throughout your journey.
Guidance - The Government has now asked people to ‘stay alert’, advising against travelling by train unless it’s your only option, for those who still need to travel with us, we are working really hard behind the scenes to keep trains clean and keep you up to date with the current situation.
Essential travel - As our services cover Wales and Scotland, please remember the Welsh and Scottish Governments have advised people against all non-essential travel. Therefore if you are travelling across the borders, you must comply with the rules of those governments.
Cleaning - We have reviewed the work of our train maintenance and cleaning contractors to ensure all trains go through a deep clean process at the end of each day.
Our team - We have increased our teams to help keep our trains clean during the day.
We have introduced more frequent walk-throughs to clean surfaces on a more regular basis and have ensured our team are fully aware of the importance of maintaining good hygiene themselves.
On board guidance - We are developing on board labels, to remind all customers to 'Stay Safe, Stay Apart'.
Need to change your travel plans? +
Wish to travel on a different day?+
Applying for a refund+
For all tickets purchased with CrossCountry using our website, mobile site or app we would ask you to apply for a refund using your online account.
If for any reason you are unable to self-serve please e-mail our web support team on sales.support.crosscountry@trainsfares.co.uk or seasons.crosscountry@trainsfares.co.uk for Season tickets.
For tickets purchased from our website, mobile site or app (with the exception of Season tickets), we are waiving the usual £10 charge and all refunds are now processed free of charge. Advance train tickets bought before 07:00 on Monday 23 March are eligible for a refund providing they have not been used. Advance train tickets purchased after 07:00 on the 23rd March for travel on the reduced timetable will not be eligible for a refund but normal National Rail Conditions of Travel still apply for any disruption. The normal 28 day application window to apply for a refund, is extended to 56 days after expiry.
Season tickets can be refunded at any time but there must be at least seven days remaining on a monthly or longer Season ticket (excluding annual), or at least three days remaining on a weekly Season ticket to obtain a refund. Annual Season ticket refunds are calculated on the difference between the amount you paid and the charge for the time the Season ticket was held. Refunds are not pro-rata as the unit cost of a Season ticket decreases as the period of validity increases. Annual Season tickets have little to no refundable value if they have been used for more than 10 months and 12 days. This refund can be backdated up to 56 days from when it is submitted to the last date it was used (or to the 17 March 2020, whichever is later) if you were unable to travel due to the government’s guidance about only travelling if your journey was essential during the pandemic. If you were unable to travel due to illness immediately before the government’s guidance was given in March, you can apply for this to be backdated further with evidence of the period you were ill.
For more information and to see how much you could get back from your Season ticket, visit the National Rail website and use the Season Ticket Refund Calculator tool.
Please note, refunds can take up to 5 working days to process once received by our team.
If you have a paper ticket and wish to make a refund please contact our Web Support team on the above e-mail addresses only and they will provide directions on how to process. This will include a photograph of your paper ticket cut diagonally in half.
For all other queries+
If you have any other queries that do not relate to an existing booking our Customer Relations team are here to help. To achieve social distancing, and with the challenges of Coronavirus, our Customer Relations telephone lines are now open Monday - Friday 08:00 – 17:00. Passenger Assistance telephone lines will be open Monday - Friday 08:00 - 17:00.
Please remember, you can also use our online contact forms to get in touch at any time - for Customer Relations please use the form here and for Passenger Assistance please use the form here.
For further information and the latest guidance, please see below:
CrossCountry at Home
