Virgin CrossCountry
Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Along with the InterCity West Coast franchise held by a separate legal entity, the company traded under the Virgin Trains brand.
A Class 220 Voyager at Bristol Temple Meads in 2005 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | InterCity CrossCountry 6 January 1997 – 10 November 2007 |
| Main route(s) | Southern England/London Paddington and South West England/South East Wales – Midlands – Northern England and Scotland |
| Fleet size | 34 Voyager and 44 Super Voyager sets |
| Parent company | Virgin Group (51%) Stagecoach (49%) |
| Reporting mark | VXC |
| Successor | CrossCountry |
Operations commenced on 5 January 1997 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. Originally scheduled to run for 15 years, the franchise was suspended in favour of a management contract in July 2002. The government opted to retender the CrossCountry franchise during the late 2000s and services were transferred over to Arriva-owned CrossCountry on 11 November 2007.
Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in the United Kingdom, but most avoided Greater London entirely as a result of changes in 2003. All of its services called, or terminated, at Birmingham New Street. Multiple service reorganisations, such as Project Princess and Project Omega, were implemented by the company. In order to replace its British Rail-era rolling stock, the company introduced Class 220 Voyagers and Class 221 Super Voyagers.