|
CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, incorporating elements of both the Central Trains and the Virgin CrossCountry franchises, ahead of its invitation to tender on October of that year. On 10 July 2007, the DfT announced that Arriva had been awarded the New Cross Country franchise. CrossCountry is one of only two franchised train operating companies that does not manage any stations, the other being Caledonian Sleeper. CrossCountry's services have been periodically disrupted by industrial action amongst its staff, often due to disputes over rostering and pay. While the franchise had been originally due to conclude on 31 March 2016, multiple subsequent agreements have been enacted; in September 2023, the DfT confirmed that the franchise has been extended for a further four yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. 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 railway station, Birmingham New Street. Multiple service reorganisations, such as Pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 221
The British Rail Class 221 ''Super Voyager'' is a class of tilting train, tilting Diesel-electric transmission, diesel-electric multiple unit express passenger trains built in Bruges, Belgium and Wakefield, by Bombardier Transportation in 200102. The class is similar to the British Rail Class 220, Class 220 ''Voyager'', but was built with a tilting train, tilting mechanism enabling up to six degrees of tilt to allow higher speeds on curved tracks. Additionally, most have five coaches, and they have a different bogie design. They have a maximum speed of . The trains are divided between two operators, CrossCountry (25 sets) and Grand Central (train operating company), Grand Central (two sets). CrossCountry sets had their tilt function disabled in 2008 to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs, and Grand Central sets do not use theirs, although they remain in place. There are also a number of additional sets in storage, having been stood down from Avanti West Coast in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 170
The British Rail Class 170 ''Turbostar'' is a British diesel-hydraulic multiple unit passenger train designed and built by Adtranz, and later by Bombardier Transportation, at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The Class 170 was derived from the and DMUs, known as the ''Networker Turbos'', of the 1990s. The first units were introduced to service in 1999, shortly after the privatisation of British Rail; they have been commonly used to operate regional as well as long-distance services, and to a lesser extent suburban services. A total of 139 units were built, but some were later converted to and units. These trains are currently in use with CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Northern Trains and ScotRail. Design The Class 170 diesel multiple unit (DMU) is a development of the design used in the and DMUs known as the ''Networker Turbos'' and built by British Rail Engineering Limited and later ABB Transportation before that company became part of Bombardier. Notable featur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 220
The British Rail Class 220 ''Voyager'' is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple unit passenger trains built in Belgium by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001. They were introduced in 2001 to replace the 20-year-old InterCity 125 and almost 40-year-old Class 47-hauled Mark 2 fleets operating on the Cross Country Route. They were initially operated by Virgin CrossCountry and since 2007 have been operated by CrossCountry. Technical details All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of at 1,800rpm. These power a generator which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach, with one axle per bogie powered. Voyagers have both air and rheostatic brakes. They are fitted with Dellner couplers, like the Class 222 operated by East Midlands Railway and the Class 390 ''Pendolino'' electric trains used by Avanti West Coast, meaning they can be coupled in rescue/recovery mode (air brake only) in the event of a failure. 220s and 221s can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for approx. and was opened from 1837 to 1881. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of . The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Trains West Coast
Virgin Trains (VT) (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from 9 March 1997 to 7 December 2019. The franchise covered long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and southern Scotland, consequently connecting six of the UK's largest cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million. It had around 3,400 employees in 2015. The Virgin Trains brand was also used on the legally and operationally separate Virgin Trains East Coast from 2015 until 2018, and previously on Virgin CrossCountry, which operated between 1997 and 2007, as well as from 2018 to 2020 by Virgin Trains USA in Florida. The contract expired on 7 December 2019 (hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 43 (HST)
The British Rail Class 43 (HST) is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 ''High Speed Train'' (formerly Classes 253 and 254) Diesel locomotive#Diesel-electric, diesel-electric power cars, built by British Rail Engineering Limited from 1975 to 1982, and in service in the UK since 1976. The class is officially the Railway speed record#Fuel-electric, fastest diesel locomotive in the world, with an absolute maximum speed of , and a regular service speed of . The record run was led by 43102 (43302) and trailed by 43159. History and background In the early 1970s, the British Railways Board made the decision to replace its main-line express diesel traction. Financial limitations were tight, so mass electrification was not possible. As a result, a new generation of high-speed diesel trains had to be developed. Experience with the high-speed locomotives had shown that a low axle weight was essential to avoid damage to the track at sustained high speed, and that high-sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Operating Company
In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. There are two types of TOC: most hold franchises let by the Department for Transport (DfT) through a tendering system, to operate services on certain routes for a specified duration, while a small number of open-access operators hold licences to provide supplementary services on chosen routes. These operators can run services for the duration of the licence validity. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed. Some privately-operated franchises have been taken over by a government-owned operator of last resort, due either to failing expectations or to events on the rail system as a whole. The term is also sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plymouth Railway Station
Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is on the northern edge of the city centre, close to the North Cross roundabout. It is the third busiest station in the county of Devon and the largest of the six surviving stations in Plymouth. Plymouth is a principal stop on the Exeter-Plymouth line and Cornish Main Line; it is located from , via . It is also the usual terminus for the Tamar Valley Line services from . The station is served by Great Western Railway and CrossCountry; it is also managed by the former. History Originally named Plymouth North Road, it was opened in 1877 as a joint station for the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). It was expanded in 1908 but a major rebuilding scheme that started in 1938 was delayed by the Second World War and was not completed until 1962. John Betjeman commented unfavourably on its new form in his introduction to ''The Book of the Great Western'': ''Plymouth (N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Trains
Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007. Overview Created out of the Central division of Regional Railways during the Privatisation of British Rail, Central Trains passed into the private sector on 2 March 1997. The franchise was awarded to National Express, who maintained control of the company until its eventual demise in 2007. Central Trains employed over 2,400 staff. The company invested significantly in rolling stock, with significant orders for new trains placed and the fleet later further grown through the acquisition of trains made surplus by other companies. Despite a reduction in the area covered during the ten years of its existence, the company grew its core fleet from fewer than 300 passenger vehicles to a total of 379 – a capacity increase of over 28%. It also refurbished a number of its stations, introducing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Mark 3
The British Rail Mark 3 is a type of passenger railway carriage, carriage developed in response to growing competition from passenger airline, airlines and the automobile, car in the 1970s. A variant of the Mark 3 became the rolling stock for the InterCity 125, High Speed Train (HST). Originally conceived as locomotive-hauled coaching stock, the first coaches built were for the prototype HST in 1972. Production coaches entered service between 1975 and 1988, and multiple-unit designs based on the Mark 3 bodyshell continued to be built until the early 1990s. Most of the surviving fleet of the Mark 3 and its derivatives were still in revenue service on the British railway network in 2020, however, as of 7 April 2021, 300 carriages have been sent for scrap. Introduction Under the chairmanship of Stanley Raymond, it was decided to reduce journey times further on long-distance trains by increasing line speed to , where practical – the maximum considered possible on Britain's Victor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
