CrossCountry Trains Reviews 

I was in first class so was very lucky. Jason and Jane were kind helpful and did whatever they could to make the journey okay but they had to deal with a very overcrowded train and toilets which weren’t working. They remained cheerful helpful and upbeat throughout - as well as considerate to those from standard class who were desperately overcrowded.
Station staff at Birmingham New street were also very helpful.

I just booked a CrossCountry train to connect with an Avanti West Coast train in September. I was accurate with my dates and times. At the time of booking, the website froze, and when the tickets were emailed through a few minutes later, the date of travel was incorrect. It could have been an error on my part, but I don't believe it was. I contacted CrossCountry immediately, and their response was simply 'buy a new ticket'. Unsurprisingly, in a five-minute window, the price has increased fivefold. They care only about profit, not the customer. Ironically, they use the terms 'customer support' and 'helpline'. With almost 7 weeks before the date of travel, surely it wouldn't be too much trouble to simply amend the booking?

Appalling!
Our 10.11am (Peterborough to Cambridge) train was delayed by thirty-eight minutes. Apparently, something was "under investigation". We have no clue as to what this was; no explanation, no apologies, but they still had the nerve to come through the train checking tickets! Consequently, we couldn't sit together.
Needless to say that this impeded on our appointment and spoilt what was to be an enjoyable and relaxing day.
(I'm just contemplating the 'delay repay' scheme, but I have my doubts as it could prove to be very stressful?)

honestly just think there type of trains are cool and half the time its not there fault there late, the only issue i would say is slight over-crowding but other than that pretty good company

Terrible. Over-crowded train. People standing in aisle. I dread to think what would happen if we stopped suddenly.

Nearest toilet out of action. No toilet at other end of carriage F. Next carriage too crowded to get through to access another toilet. My journey was nearly 4 hours - the lack of a functioning toilet is completely unacceptable.

Another time I think I would actually be willing to travel further in order to avoid using Cross Country.

Won't be rushing to use them again.

What is there to say? Just horrendous every single time, will find new and unique ways to pull delays out of thin air; it doesn't matter what time you go, you can guarantee that any leg of your journey involving Cross Country will involve grief. Just get it together and actually provide an actual service rather than a headache.

It’s a matter of time before a passenger gets killed on one of your trains you treat passengers like utter garbage on the 10-56 from Sheffield to Cheltenham today seriously cross country should be prosecuted for safety reasons on your trains

CrossCountry gets a 1 star only because 0 stars are not available. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAQUE. In April of this year my wife and I travelled to the U.K. from Canada. We prepaid rail travel from Bournemouth to Newbury. Our travel was stopped at an earlier station for what appeared to be a switch problem but was never explained. We had a non-refundable, time-scheduled, tour booked near the Newbury station, and due to the interrupted service, were forced to take a taxi for the remainder of the trip. We arrived at our tour location with very little time to spare. I advised CrossCountry of the situation and they refused to refund the portion of our train expense that they did not provide, or the cost of the taxi, despite this being 100% their fault. They even went so far as to suggest that I should have been aware of a later train that could possibly have provided similar service, even though it would not have arrived in Newbury in time for the tour. In essence, they have refused to take any responsibility. DISGRACEFUL !!!

Absolutely disgraceful service; booking in advance means NOTHING
I booked my CrossCountry train ticket two whole months early and specifically reserved seats for myself and my young child to make our journey comfortable – or so I thought. When we got on board, other passengers were already sat in our reserved seats and flat-out refused to move when we politely asked them to.
I looked everywhere for a member of staff to report this, but there was literally no one to be found on the entire train. People were camped out in the aisle right in front of the toilet, blocking the way completely.
We had to stand for the full two and a half hours with all our luggage. My little boy got so uncomfortable and distressed that he started being sick, and we still had nowhere to sit or anyone to turn to for help.
What is the point of letting you reserve seats if the railway can’t even be bothered to have staff on board to enforce them? This was expensive travel, not a free bus, and the experience was humiliating and dangerous for my child. I will think twice before booking with CrossCountry ever again – avoid at all costs.

As per normal delays and "service disruptions"Stephensons rocket was better than this lot, missed connection again and again.
When will the government do something about this poor service all the time, , let the Japanese or Chinese have ago.

Simply appalling. No response to complaints and still awaiting refunds and compensation on 3 different journeys with no sign of a customer service response. Switch to another booking agent.

3 trips in a month. One cancelled the other two delayed. Even the delay repay is taking weeks not days like other companies to pay out. Not even honouring first class upgrades on the cancelled train.
By far, the worst governed company I ever had the displeasure to use. I hate their trains with a passion. Overcrowded, unsafe, old people can’t get a seat, no refreshments, toilets not working but sadly I have no other choice but to use these losers.
The government need to come in and sack those in charge.

Whilst UK trains generally are not reliable, Cross Country carriages are certainly in the worst state. The carpets are messy and ripped up, the aircon has a hard time over the summer, and there is always a real lack of carriages (especially over peak times). It's borderline unsafe, quite honestly. I'm seriously considering getting a car again.

Poor old Cross Country get a lot of grief & probably rightly so... sometimes.
with the notoriously overcrowded, small trains....
BUT...
I've found the Staff ALL to be lovely & helpful & obliging. 🙏
If you can get one, the Seats 💺 are COMFY.
I always look it up & get one of the Double Sets (e.g. 13:27/14:27/16:27 from EXD)
& they are all FINE !!
I even got one of these amazing meals t'other day (THAI VEGGIE CURRY 🍛) & it was FABULOUS 😋😋
Thanks, O. 🙏

I have to get from Lydney to Cheltenham spa every week day for 4 weeks to undergo Radiotherapy at Cheltenham Hospital. Today 2 hours late. Tomorrow all CANCELLED!
This service is absolutel appalling!!!
I have traveled far and wide by train in India/Thailand and Camboldia and the sevice/comfort and times are superb.
I feel ashamed that our train service was ever privatised and the result is greed for the shareholders and fxxx the poor travellers. SHOCKING you should all hang your heads in shame as you push your greedy snouts into the capitalist trough.
Dusgusting!

I can honestly say it is the worst train provider in the UK.

I've taken multiple trips on cross country trains over the last 16months.

Several cancelled and several delayed. Delay repay takes longer than it should do and often wrong. I had one where they thought 30 seconds to get across a large station to catch a connecting train was apparantly long enough so it was clearly my choice that I missed that connection!

Crowded trains. I see less crowded london underground trains in rush hour, and sardines in tins have more room. Yet Cross Country make that seem like luxury.

I've had trouble getting to my pre booked seat several times. I've had people sat in my pre booked seat several times. No help from staff (who can't get through the crowded train).

It's like they heard they are being nationalised and just given up. Sad thing is they will be one of the last ones nationalised.

Banana Republic Service not worth the extortionate prices.
No unreserved carriage available (B).
No air-con.
20 to 30 people people per carriage standing.
Even Turkey has got better service.
An absolutely shambles in this day and age.
Pathetic 😡😡😡

Just the usual farce as far as train travel in the UK goes. Train sat in the station at Birmingham because they didn't know where the driver was. Eventually 20 minutes later he came ambling up the station. And of course the train was over crowded as usual. Our precooked seats were occupied but as one chap had a disability we didn't feel it right to move him. After all he was only there because someone had sat in his seat and the railway staff couldn't be bothered to move them so sat him in our seats. What is the point of booking seats? The sooner railways are renationalised the better. These franchises are hopeless.

I had a very disappointing experience traveling with CrossCountry Trains. The train was delayed, overcrowded, and there were not enough seats for passengers. To make matters worse, the carriage felt like an oven, with little to no ventilation, making the journey extremely uncomfortable. The carriage was also not clean, and the onboard announcements were unclear, adding to the frustration. Staff were not particularly helpful when asked for updates about the delay.

Overall, the service was poor, unreliable, and not worth the fare paid. I only gave this review one star because I had to—if it were possible, I would have given it zero stars. It really felt as though passenger comfort wasn’t a priority, while those making the decisions will never have to experience what customers go through on journeys like this. I would not recommend CrossCountry and hope they improve their punctuality, cleanliness, ventilation, and customer service.

Absolutely shocking service. They want us to use public transport yet the past 3 weeks Ive used this for work. Rammed everytime, standing in the asle for 3 hours. Put some more carriages on 😡. Will be driving from now on. Avoid if you can.