Long-distance train operator CrossCountry has been awarded a new contract to continue running services for three more years.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it will take on the revenue and cost risk associated with the franchise, in line with emergency measures announced last month.
CrossCountry, owned by Arriva, has run trains through England, Scotland and Wales since 2007.
Its network stretches from Aberdeen to Penzance, and from Stansted Airport to Cardiff.
Under the new deal, capacity will be boosted by 20,000 seats per week, more drivers and on-board staff will be deployed, and technology to cut the environmental impact of operations will be trialled.
This includes powering trains using batteries instead of diesel when they enter and leave stations, to improve air quality.
READ MORE: North-south rail services as station is shut down after explosion
There will also be new measures to help passengers with disabilities, such as providing the option of reserving space for assistance dogs, and better staff training.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “This agreement ensures that vital train services will continue across the UK’s most extensive rail network, as the country continues to fight and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The deal announced today reaffirms our commitment to ending the complicated franchise system, and is focused on the best interests of passengers, delivering better services and helping create a new kind of railway.
“With a real focus on boosting capacity and seizing the opportunity to create more environmentally sustainable services, this new contract will benefit passengers in the long term, improving their experience when travelling on our railways.”
Arriva will be paid a performance-linked fee to run services.
CrossCountry managing director Tom Joyner said: “This is great news for our customers and stakeholders and recognises the importance of our continuing to deliver long-distance business and leisure services across England, Scotland and Wales.
“Our trains connect towns and cities, people and communities across Great Britain, and this will be essential as we rebuild our national and local economies.
“We will continue to focus on highlighting the benefits of rail travel and ensuring our customers can travel with confidence.”
David Brown, Managing Director for UK Trains, said:
“Today’s announcement is welcome news and brings much needed continuity for the communities and regions we serve and to our employees at a time of great uncertainty for the country. Now that we have secured continuity, we must work on the future direction of rail reform to serve the changing travel patterns of our customers.
“The new contract is positive recognition of CrossCountry’s stewardship since 2007. We will build on our record of innovation and investment and progress plans to introduce a range of improvements, including additional capacity for our customers.
“The critical question now is how we look to ‘build back better’ through an improved operating model with flexible ticketing solutions and a far simpler fares structure. Our ability to connect towns and cities, people and communities will be essential as we rebuild our economies.
“Arriva will play an active role, alongside Government, in the reform of our railways to create a more customer-focussed model which empowers train operators to be agile and continue to innovate. A new public-private partnership is key to achieving this.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel