Alstom will continue to maintain CrossCountry’s Voyager and Super Voyager fleet until 2031

On 1 November 2023, Alstom has signed an eight-year extension to its Train Services Agreement (TSA) with CrossCountry in the UK. The contract extension, valued at around €950 million, further secures this long-term partnership and is evidence of the trust placed by the customer.

Under the agreement, Alstom will continue to maintain, overhaul, service and clean 252 vehicles of the CrossCountry fleet (34 Class 220 Voyagers and 24 Class 221 Super Voyagers) at their primary depot, Central Rivers. In addition, seven Voyagers will move to CrossCountry when they are released from service with Avanti West Coast to bolster the CrossCountry fleet and enable service uplifts in due course.

“We are delighted to extend our Voyager Maintenance Contract with CrossCountry for another eight years. We have worked in close partnership since 2007, providing reliable, well-presented, and safe trains for all CrossCountry’s customers. We look forward to working with our colleagues at CrossCountry to help them deliver a high-quality train service for the next eight years,” says Nick Crossfield, Alstom Managing Director, UK & Ireland.

The contract includes management of all planned (preventative) and unplanned (corrective) maintenance; all required overhaul activities; cleaning, and light maintenance services on the vehicles; vehicle servicing; service delivery support (including 24/7 telephone help line); vehicle cleaning (daily and periodic); depot management; shunting; obsolescence monitoring and management, and accident/vandalism repair.

Within the agreement, the fleet will be installed with an Intelligent Engine Stop Start (IESS) system, which will drive a reduction in fuel usage, emissions, and operational costs. Additionally, the collaboration team will continue with other fuel savings measures to build on the weight reduction initiatives already undertaken, or underway, which will substantially reduce the emissions produced from the fleet.

Owned by Beacon Rail, the Voyagers are running across the CrossCountry network, from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Penzance, England. Alstom's Voyager and Super Voyager inter-city trains have already served passengers across England, Scotland and Wales for over two decades. Operating at speeds of up to 200 km/h, they have clocked up over 414 million miles of service.