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Virgin CrossCountry〔(Companies House extract company no 3007937 ) CrossCountry Trains Limited〕 was a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating the InterCity CrossCountry franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in the United Kingdom but most avoided Greater London after 2003. All services called or terminated at Birmingham New Street. The company traded under the Virgin Trains brand, along with the InterCity West Coast〔(Companies House extract company no 3007940 ) West Coast Trains Limited〕 franchise, however the two franchises were operated by separate legal entities. ==History== Virgin Rail Group was awarded the InterCity CrossCountry franchise in November 1996 with operations commencing on 5 January 1997.〔(Virgin to run CrossCountry trains ) ''The Independent'' 14 November 1996〕 In October 1998 Virgin Group sold 49% of the shares in Virgin Rail Group to Stagecoach.〔(Virgin passengers get better deal ) ''BBC News'' 7 October 1998〕 In the wake of the collapse of Railtrack and the inability of Network Rail to deliver on the 140 mph West Coast Main Line upgrade, both the Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast franchises were suspended in favour of management contracts in July 2002.〔(Virgin Rail Group Interim Agreement ) House of Commons Select Committee on Transport〕〔''Rail Magazine'' Issue 494 18 August 2004 Page 6〕〔''The Railway Magazine'' Issue 1242 October 2004 Page 4〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Virgin CrossCountry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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