Britain’s CrossCountry Has a Plan for Nearly 60,000 More Weekly Seats

CrossCountry, the operator that links cities across Britain without passing through London, is adding eight more Voyager trains. They will enter service one after another from early 2027, according to a rail industry roundup published October 13.

The extra trains were secured through a partnership involving CrossCountry, its parent Arriva, the Department for Transport and the rolling stock company Beacon. Combined with a dozen additional trains the operator brought in earlier, the new batch will add almost 60,000 seats per week across the network.

More capacity is good news for anyone who has stood in a packed vestibule on a long-distance journey. The Voyagers are used on CrossCountry’s long cross-country services, so extra carriages should make seats easier to find where demand is highest, although the roundup does not say which routes get them first.

The announcement does not give a date for each train or say which services will benefit first. Travelers who rely on CrossCountry should watch for timetable updates as the new Voyagers arrive, since extra seating often shows up first on the busiest daily services.

Sources: Rail Business Daily, Rail Business Daily (earlier fleet expansion)