CrossCountry Trains Reviews 

1. Ac went out so everyone was overheating in the middle of the heatwave.
2. Carriages are dirty and my tray was stuffed shut with like, 10 plastic bottles trapped inside. (Unpleasant surprise.
3. Generally dated. The trains don't even have automatic doors like literally every other train company in the UK, not to mention it sounds like an old 1980s car when it starts up.
4. Toilets out of service but they're dirty anyways.
5. Cramped seats and luggage space.
Yeah it sucks. Just take LNER or Transpenine Rxpress which are both better than Cross Country in every way.

The ticket lady came over and my ticket wouldn’t scan, and she said that my ticket was for tomorrow instead, so I realised I accidentally brought a ticket for the same train but the following day and apologised, she made me buy a new ticket for the same train which came to £73.60, and then checking the next coming trains they were around £22! How does that make any sense, absolutely ridiculous won’t be using this company ever again, scammers

My journey on Cross Country yesterday was simple hell, trains was packed and the air conditioning wasn’t working in 30c plus heat. Everyone working for Cross Country should be ashamed of themselves working for such an awful company. They take millions of pounds each year and don’t invest anything in to the company, no money invested in longer trains to make their customers travel more pleasant. They simple don’t care, they only care about the shareholders.

Absolutely rubbish customer service. The old lady is doing live robbery. Been to Saltburn for visit from Bradford. Bought return ticket for £50.
I mistakenly put other date for return but I have got the valid ticket. I asked about the ticket from northern service they said you can use it we appreciate you.
Old lady said I’m the only one ( that’s why rubbish service). She gave me ticket from Darlington to York for bloody £18.30. Absolutely robbery. And entire time she talking about calling police. I’m under 18 I can use my power to by calling my social worker but I didn’t coz I don’t want any mess.
Teach her how to talk to teenager especially under 18!!!!

Trains cancelled either side of thejourney so everyone piled on to the only available train. Find an available seat is a ridiculous statement that cross country trains always say. There were no available seats. The aisle was crammed with people. ‘Sorry we can’t bring refreshments but come to us in carriage h’ (for example) is ridiculous, no one can move, it’s sweltering, they then disconnect the back carriages so even more people are crammed into an already rammed area.
The cost of the ticket was outrageous for such an uncomfortable journey. This wasn’t a 20 minute trip, but we were stuck like this for hours.
How cross country trains are getting away with selling too many tickets before the journey has even began, then cancelling trains so there’s even more people trying to get on is absolutely disgusting.

Shockingly bad bought first class tickets a lot of money,reserved seat they had a problem with that . Over crowded, definitely not 1st class service asked for a drink on a terribly hot day which they conveniently forgot about , delayed as usual not worth the £75 ticket price.
Felt like cattle being herded .

Currently on a train from Manchester to Bristol. 1 star is far too much for the state of this train. Filthy tables, chairs and carpets. Toilets unusable as so filthy and blocked !! Literally feel sick at the state. 3 hour journey with no toilet facilities. How is this a train in England with out of this world prices. Train operator should be ashamed of itself.
Thank you to the kind young lady who tried to help with the facilities, poor thing but once seen never to return !! Already dreading my return journey!! Oh and to add to the misery and discomfort the heating is on!!

I have just returned from travelling to Bath from Leeds and am not impressed by Cross Country train services. On the outbound journey I struggled past lots of people stood without a seat to get to a toilet only to discover 2 toilets were out of action. Ridiculous! The announcements apologising for overcrowding are a joke… just provide a decent service people have paid for. On the return journey I missed my connection due to delay. Also the seats are not comfortable for sitting on for longer journeys. Overall I think the service needs a big upgrade and I am considering going via London next time to avoid using this line. 😳

Cross country between Bournemouth and Manchester is always a packed train with no room for sitting or for luggage. Considering alot of people that use this service have luggage as also serves Southampton Airport and Southampton Cruise ports its a disgrace. Its only a 5 carriage train with no room for luggage and always packed. We had booked seats but had to stand as no room for our luggage! Other train companies provide much larger trains for their busy routes so why can't Cross Country??? Seems this is a problem for alot of people so please sit up and take note Cross Country.

I would give it no stars if that was an option. Lousy no good train service. It would probably be quicker to use a horse and cart. And as for getting a delay repayment, you might as well whistle down the wind

Useless, regularly delayed with lots of cancellations and hugely overcrowded. On a recent trip to Edinburgh from the Southwest we suffered all the above and not for the first time. Diabolical service!

Have to say this is very disappointing. Upgraded to first class, a tiny bacon roll, 1 tea. The chairs where cramped and non of the toilets worked on a three hour train accept the one next to first class it stunk. The staff where lovely but I mean 1 drink on 3 hour journey. They asked for our tickets a few times. No alcohol. Wow just very poor when you pay that money

I travelled on the 13.05 train from Edinburgh to Bristol (Plymouth train) on 1st July and was most impressed with the service. The onboard communication was excellent with information on the coming stations and lengths of time to get there, any delays (minutes only) and their cause. The staff checking tickets were professional and cheerful, and the catering and cleaning crew were delightful and helpful. Altogether, the journey was stress free and the staff made it so. Well done and thank you.

Pathetic service. Very frequently and habitually late, the on-board service is pleasant enough. Boring, dull and apologetic communication from this company.

Hard to get beyond just terrible yet expensive

Two journeys on Cross Country trains yesterday - York to Sheffield and back. Both trains were reasonably on time, however the trains were too small for the number of passengers. Five cars on the first and four on the second. Both trains were absolutely packed with people standing in the isles and vestibules, the accessible toilet was broken on the first train and it was impossible for a wheelchair user to get down the train to the next toilet. She should have been repositioned when she got on the train to be adjacent to a working accessible toilet (as is the practice with LNER / Grand Central).

It seems to be the norm that their trains do not have enough carriages, I saw another four car CC train at Sheffield absolutely packed with standing passengers. No doubt profits are greater if you make passengers stand.

Appalling customer service. FALSELY accused our son of evading his fare when he had provided full details that the station ticket machine had failed to issue his online ticket purchase using a Chase bank card. Station staff told him they were aware of this problem and told him to just get on his train.

CrossCountry Trains REVENUE PROTECTION UNIT, run by ‘Service’ Director Sarah Robinson, then send him a letter stating that he has been issued with a warning and any further incidence (of CrossCountry Trains’ incompetence) may result in Prosecution.

NOT ACCEPTABLE and contrary to Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.

His train also arrived late as CrossCountry Trains also seems unable to run a railway.

really appreciate if levels of service went up and the prices came down. Staff are good however the entire service is a shambles.

Absolutely appalling experience with CrossCountry.

The issue wasn’t that I didn’t have a First Class ticket. The issue was that there were no seats available anywhere on the train, and I had recently broken my ankle, meaning I genuinely couldn’t stand for the journey.

The train was so overcrowded that people were sitting on the floor, around the toilets and in the entrance vestibules. It was incredibly difficult to move through the train, and I was left feeling that the conditions were neither comfortable nor safe.

Despite explaining my situation, there was no compassion or practical help from the onboard staff. The only available seats were in First Class, but no effort was made to accommodate someone with a temporary mobility issue. Instead, I ended up sitting on the floor outside the toilet.

I appreciate that trains can be busy, but this level of overcrowding should not be considered acceptable. Passengers should not be paying for a journey only to spend it sitting on the floor because the train is full. The lack of empathy from the onboard staff made an already difficult situation much worse.

This experience has seriously damaged my confidence in travelling with CrossCountry, and I hope they take steps to address both the overcrowding and the way staff support passengers who genuinely need assistance.