Banbury MP demands improvement from 'one of the worst performing train operating companies in the country'

The letter published on Tuesday (August 13) comes as a response to the train operator introducing reductions to its timetable.

CrossCountry announced last month that reductions would come into place for 13 weeks from August until November due to a lack of resources.

The operator has stated that the reductions are necessary so the train drivers can catch up on the backlog of training days required.

However, the Banbury MP and Transport Secretary have raised concerns about the level of service delivered by CrossCountry.

Mr Woodcock said: “CrossCountry is consistently one of the worst performing train operating companies in the country.

"For too long, passengers in Banbury have suffered from delays, cancellations, and overcrowding. I appreciate that you have acknowledged that services have ‘fallen below the standards our passengers should expect from us'; however, now is the time to take action.”

CrossCountry is one of the largest rail networks in the UK and is centred around Birmingham’s New Street station.

Passengers from Banbury can travel north to Manchester Piccadilly station and south to Bournemouth on CrossCountry trains.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh MP echoed Sean Woodcock’s concerns and demanded the operator take short-term mitigations during the reduced timetable period.

These she has suggested could include increased capacity for the services still in operation and that CrossCounty take the necessary steps to reduce the backlog of driver training.

She said: “This is not the standard we expect, or passengers deserve, but this is the mess we’ve inherited, where our railways are understaffed and lurching from one crisis to the next.

"We insisted CrossCountry put on more services than their original plan, but the reduced timetable is certainly not satisfactory. CrossCountry is persistently one of the worst performing operators, with record delays, cancellations and consistent overcrowding. That is why I have also instigated a remedial plan to improve services in the long run.

“There can be no excuse for this sort of dire service, and it will not be tolerated under this government.”

In response to the letters by MP Louise Haigh and MP Sean Woodcock, a spokesperson for CrossCountry said: "We acknowledge that our service has fallen below the standards expected of us.

"All too frequently, our passengers have been inconvenienced by on-the-day cancellations, which results in poor quality and reliability of service.

"When we wrote to Mr Woodcock on July 26 to highlight the changes and extend an invitation to meet, we acknowledged that recent performance had significantly negatively impacted services across our network, including for passengers at Banbury. This is why we have taken proactive action to deliver the change needed to provide a better service for our customers. We believe that our robust plan is the quickest way to improve our performance and provide a more resilient service.

"The temporary timetable will give us time to ensure as many fully-trained drivers can work across the whole network as possible, meaning fewer cancellations and more certainty for CrossCountry customers."