Cross Country North

Operated by Virgin Trains

http://www.virgintrains.co.uk

Birmingham to Newcastle

Frequency hourly

Departs Birmingham New Street

Calling At

York (2.5 hours)

Arrives Newcastle (3.5 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Birmingham to Edinburgh via Leeds

Frequency hourly

Departs Birmingham New Street

Calling At

Leeds (2 hours), York (2.5 hours), Newcastle (3.5 hours)

Arrives Edinburgh Waverley (5 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Birmingham to Edinburgh via Carlisle

Frequency 6/day

Departs Birmingham New Street

Calling At

Oxenholme Lake District (2 hours, 4/day), Penrith (2.5 hours, 4/day)

Arrives Edinburgh Waverley (4 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Birmingham to Glasgow

Frequency 8/day

Departs Birmingham New Street

Calling At

Oxenholme Lake District (2 hours, 5/day), Penrith (2.5 hours, 5/day)

Arrives Glasgow Central (4 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Birmingham to Manchester

Frequency 2/hour

Departs Birmingham New Street

Arrives Manchester Piccadilly (1.5 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Manchester to Edinburgh

Frequency 5/day

Departs Manchester Piccadilly

Calling At

Oxenholme Lake District (1.5 hours), Penrith (2 hours)

Arrives Edinburgh Waverley (3.5 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Warning: Details are approximate and can change without warning. Contact details are provided for a reason: Check with the operator before you travel

Most of the services listed here continue past Birmingham to either Plymouth or Bournemouth. Details of Cross Country services south of Birmingham are listed here.

Trains are Virgin Voyagers - four or five coach trains with a first class coach at one end and quiet coach at the other. There is an onboard shop selling drinks and snacks (most of which are free for first class ticket-holders), and other assorted rubbish. Because these trains are short they can get very busy even outside peak times, so unless you want to stand you should reserve a seat even if you have a railpass.

Virgin Value tickets are advance purchase tickets which are much cheaper than the walk-on fares. In theory they are available for all Cross Country services until 1800 the day before travel, though in practice the cheapest ones are gone weeks before travel, and they often sell out completely a week before travel.

All trains in Britain are completely non-smoking. Many stations in Scotland are also non-smoking, so you will be unable to take advantage of prolonged stops at these stations to stand on the platform and smoke.