Cross Country South

Operated by Virgin Trains

http://www.virgintrains.co.uk

Birmingham to Bristol and the Southwest

Frequency hourly

Departs Birmingham New Street

Calling At

Bristol Temple Meads (1.5 hours), Exeter St Davids (2.5 hours), Plymouth (4 hours), Par (4.5 hours, 2/day)

Arrives Penzance (7 hours, 3/day)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Or catch this service to Plymouth Station and change to the London Paddington to the Southwest service (7/day)

Birmingham to Reading, Southampton and Bournemouth

Frequency hourly

Departs Birmingham New Street

Calling At

Oxford (1.5 hours), Reading (1.5 hours), Southampton (2.5 hours)

Arrives Bournemouth (3 hours)

Facilities

A buffet and shop are available onboard.

Manchester and Birmingham to Reading, Gatwick Airport and Brighton

Frequency 3/day

Departs Manchester Piccadilly

Calling At

Birmingham New Street (1.5 hours), Oxford (1.5 hours), Reading (1.5 hours), Gatwick (5 hours)

Arrives Brighton (5.5 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 Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow. 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.