Talk:Cross Country Route/Archive 1

Other cross-country routes
In modern usage, the cross country route(s) also include services to to the north west (Manchester) and the south coast (Brighton/Gatwick/Poole via Reading and Oxford). In other words more an X shaped network centred on Birmingham than a single 'line'. Not sure how best to deal with this. -- Chris j wood 12:01, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Hmm - fair point

A quick Google suggests that my usage (ie as the SW to NE link through Birmingham and Derby) is still the current understanding of 'The Cross Country Route'...

I was always brought up (in Derby) to think of the Birmingham-Manchester run as a variant of West Coast Main Line (same electrified stock base etc), and this indeed is how the wiki entry on WCML appears to be written.


 * Sorry, I was ambiguous here. I was talking about services from Manchester to the West Country or the South Coast via Birmingham; not just any old service between Manchester and Birmingham. -- Chris j wood 14:38, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Same difference :-) (The services to/from the NW re-engine at New Street usually)

I think the term 'the Cross-Country Route' has been in use for many years ( I remember talking to Ivor Warburton (former Chair of TOC) about it on a journey home many years ago - and of course the name of the present Virgin franchise (but especially VT3) gives the 'modern' context in its favour.


 * Possibly, but I've lived in Reading for nearly 30 years now, and the trains passing through from Poole and Brighton to Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh have always been called Cross Country. First as Inter-City Cross Country and now as Virgin Cross Country. - Chris j wood 14:38, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

There are obviously lots of other candidates for the generic term cross country, but it was my understanding that the VT3 route qualified hands-down on length of run and longevity of usage (and lack of any better name)

I guess the key stretch which identifies it is the old Midland Railway part, so if needs be we could call it 'Cross Country Route (MR)...' Linuxlad 13:10, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * Perhaps there is a case for an article on Cross Country services (the X shaped network I described above) and then a drill down to the Cross Country route you describe. -- Chris j wood 14:38, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)

OK I'll copy Cross Country Route to Cross Country Route (MR) and set a redirect. - we'll sort it as and when you make me some other candidates / edit the refs I've already done.

('It still moves anyway' :-)) Bob

Now done - your call.

Later - also now done a stub for Cross Country services as you suggested, and linked out to Cross Country Route (MR)

all yours Linuxlad 19:24, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)