Cross-Country Route

York – Cardiff
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend York (to the ECML ) Leeds Wakefield Westgate Sheffield Dronfield Chesterfield Derby (to the Midland Main Line ) Peartree Willington Burton upon Trent Tamworth Wilncote Water Orton Birmingham New Street (to the WCML , Chase Line and Cross-City Line ) University Barnt Green Bromsgrove Droitwich Spa Worcester Shrub Hill (to the Cotswold Line and Birmingham − Worcester Line ) Ashchurch for Tewkesbury Cheltenham Spa Gloucester (to the Gloucester − Newport Line ) Cam and Dursley Yate Bristol Parkway (to the South Wales Main Line ) Filton Abbey Wood Severn Beach Line Stapleton Road Lawrence Hill Bristol Temple Meads (to GWML ) Patchway Pilning Branch from Gloucester Caldicot Severn Tunnel Junction Newport (to the South Wales Main Line ) Cardiff Central (to the South Wales Main Line )

The Cross-Country Route is a major rail link in Great Britain , running from South West England and South Wales via Bristol , Birmingham , Derby and Sheffield to North East England and Scotland. The route runs on parts of the Great Western Main Line , the Midland Main Line , Sheffield − Hull Line and the East Coast Main Line .

The central section Cardiff - Bristol - Birmingham - Derby was built by three different companies in the 1840s: Birmingham and Gloucester Railway , Birmingham and Bristol Railway and Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway .

For a long time, the cross-country route had a shadowy existence, as it led through five different operating regions of British Rail and was not given preferential treatment in any region in the design of the timetable. This only changed after privatization in the mid-1990s when the connection was merged into a single franchise and taken over by Virgin Trains .

In the 1960s there were plans to electrify the connection. At the time, this would have been particularly advantageous on the Lickey Incline, a 2.65% steep section immediately south of Birmingham, as many of the early diesel locomotives were insufficiently efficient. However, the line has not yet been electrified, as the conversion no longer appears necessary since the use of more powerful diesel multiple units .

Today, mainly diesel multiple units of the 220 and 221 Voyager types operate on the cross-country route . These reach speeds of up to 125 mph (201 km / h), while older models could only go up to 95 mph (153 km / h).

See also

• List of railway lines in Great Britain
• Rail transport in Great Britain