CrossCountry to provide vital support to medical sector

Long distance train operator CrossCountry and InterCity Railfreight are today teaming up to provide a key service transporting medical supplies across the country.

As part of an initial trial, InterCity Railfreight, who have been moving parcel-sized freight using passenger trains since 2010, will be using non-public areas on some of CrossCountry’s train between Scotland, the Midlands and South West England to facilitate a more sustainable way of distributing supplies.

Sending time-critical consignments by rail will speed up the transportation of essential medical supplies, improving patient care and helping to reduce the burden on the NHS. The service will also reduce carbon emissions, with less road transportation required through city and town centres.

Jeff Screeton, Managing Director InterCity Railfreight, commented “We’re delighted to be working with CrossCountry to unlock the potential of this unique national network of high-speed rail services, from medical shipments to e-commerce. Using spare non-public spaces on trains for time-critical logistics will help improve patient care and support the NHS”.

CrossCountry’s Managing Director, Tom Joyner, said “We welcome this opportunity as part of our Building Back Better campaign for rail to play a greater, more innovative role in the nation’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Using this spare space on our High Speed Trains means we can offer a fast, direct service, to our Inter City Railfreight partners initially between Edinburgh, North East England, Birmingham and the South West ”.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:

CrossCountry - email: [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

CrossCountry’s network is the most geographically-extensive passenger rail franchise in Britain. Stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Stansted to Cardiff, it calls at over 100 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of the Britain’s 10 largest cities and delivers 298 services every weekday, equating to some 40 million passenger journeys a year.

For further information on CrossCountry services visit crosscountrytrains.co.uk or follow them online via Twitter at @crosscountryuk or Facebook.com/crosscountrytrains

CrossCountry is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe. Arriva employs over 46,000 people and delivers over 2 billion passenger journeys across 14 European countries each year.

InterCity RailFreight has a decade of experience in moving small-volume parcel traffic on scheduled high-speed rail services, using spare secure spaces in areas of the train not accessible to the public, and with no impact on passenger service operation. Working in partnership with train operators, Network Rail and locally-based delivery couriers (most using electric vehicles and cargo bikes).

InterCity RailFreight has carried a wide range of time-sensitive shipments faster than road, helping deliver improved customer service with lower emissions. The company secured the UK Rail Industry Service Innovation Award in 2017.