Cross-Country Route

The cross-country route is a major rail link in the UK, which runs from South West England and South Wales via Bristol, Birmingham, Derby and Sheffield to North East England and Scotland. The route runs along 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 built in the 1840s, three different companies: Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, Birmingham and Bristol Railway and Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway.

For a long time the permanent cross-country route in the shadows, as they led by five different operating regions of British Rail and was in no region given preference in the design of the roadmap. This only changed after privatization the mid-1990s, when the connection was combined into a single franchise and taken over by Virgin Trains.

In the 1960s there were plans to electrify the connection. This would have been back then, especially on the Lickey Incline, a 2.65% steep section just south of Birmingham, advantageous, since many of the early diesel locomotives were too inefficient. However, the track was still not electrified, since the switch appears no longer necessary since the use of more powerful diesel railcars.

On the cross-country route today run mainly diesel railcar types 220 and 221 Voyager. These can reach speeds up to 125 mph (201 km / h), while older models could (153 km / h) driving fast only up to 95 mph.