Travelled from nottingham to Birmingham in what they describe as first class. The vibrations from the train were unbearably loud and gave me a headache. Apparently there is wifi but you have to get the code from a person who doesn't exist! Therefore no wifi. The coffee was served in a paper cup, it had loads of bits in and tasted of soil. I asked for an alternative 40 minutes later when someone appeared. They went off and never came back. Awful awful awful!!

Don't bother booking a seat on a Cross Country train. It's not worth the paper it's printed on. Other passengers sit in reserved seats, don't vacate them when the passengers who are entitled to use them board and no staff are in evidence to manage the situation. When a woman carrying an eight week old baby(and her travelling companions) have to stand for their entire journey because a group of party-going women just refuse to vacate seats others have reserved, something is awfully wrong. The train was clean and the seats moderately comfortable but only if - and it's a big if - you manage to get into a seat. The aisles are absolutely crammed with standing passengers and to such a degree that I believe to be dangerous. The carriages are not marked from the outside so you have no idea where to board and the seat numbering system is illogical. Boarding and disembarking on a busy service is utter chaos. If you can use an alternative rail company or even an alternative mode of transport, then do it. Avoid this rail company at all costs.

1.5 late to destination. Electrics on train broken so we had too much heat in our car, then others were freezing, but no seats. No lights in the toilet, had to use my phone so I could see where I could go. Poo sitting on toilet paper, stunk. WiFi a rip off... I paid £4 for four hours and had .87mps For 30 mins and then I could not even get on. Took loads of photos, complained about this and told there is nothing they can do. My loss!!!!! 87% of the time paid and I had nothing and had poof of this!!!!! All in all, shocking experience. They lost a customer.

A truly uncomfortable journey into Birmingham New Street. Two and a half hours stuck in a seat with not enough room to fit my legs in behind the seat in front. It's not as if I'm a giant, I'm 5'10", and still my legs are too long. I wish that I had an alterntive, but I have to use the train for work, and that means Cross Country.

I ordered two train trips in England online through Cross Country Trains. I live in Canada and booked about a month before, then printed off the confirmations. One train trip had the times and stations for transfer but the other did not. I thought it was an open ended ticket as I know such exist. I arrived at the train stn and found that my train had left 5 minutes before I arrived because no time was listed and it only showed when I claimed the ticket. I had to buy another ticket worth twice what I'd paid. When I contact the company they said too bad so sad, you agreed to the terms. Little did I know that the terms were to hide information and rip off unsuspecting people. Do not buy from them unless you know for sure that it doesn't matter if you have to pay for your ticket twice or that you're able to pick up the ticket before the actual date. I was not, so I got screwed. They didn't offer me anything, not even a discount on a future ticket. Worst customer service ever.

I bought tickets online for travel on the same day. At the time of purchase I was not warned that it would take an hour for the tickets to be emailed. Only once purchase was completed was I informed of this, leaving insufficient time to get to train station. Having complained to crosscountry I am told this was my fault for not purchasing earlier. All other travel companies I've used(BA, National Express) have issued instantly

I have unfortunately had to make six long distance journeys on CrossCountry this month. All of these were on different days - weekdays and weekends- different times of the day. Without fail, I endured a miserable, stressful journey. Crammed for hours standing between carriages, families with small children, elderly people forced to stand. Even when we booked seats, we either could physically fight our way through to our seats, or had to give them up to people in greater need. I don’t understand why they aren’t made to carry more carriages. Absolutely shameful, this railway company is a national disgrace.

Picture yourself having a long, hard day and getting onto a train. You can’t wait to sit down. You can’t wait to just breathe. So, you walk down the aisle, and scan the reservations. ‘Reserved’ ‘Reserved’ ‘Reserved’ ‘Reserved’ ‘Available’ Aha! But, suddenly, a woman comes back from the toilet and claims the seat as her own. So you turn around, and you can’t move ANYWHERE. You try to edge past people in the aisles. You aim to find somewhere comfortable to stand as the train begins to set off. But you are trapped. All around you are people. You have been pushed against a wall and your feet have been stepped on. You have to stand like this for 50 minutes. It is then you realise that people on this train are treated like cattle. And it happens everyday. I have been commuting on Cross Country trains for almost 3 years - and the majority of train journeys has been awful. Most of my train journeys on Cross Country have consisted of me standing up: either in the aisle, pushed against a door, or, most frequently, standing beside the vestibule. Every train journey begins with the speaker saying something along the lines of “we have overcrowding at the moment. More passengers got on than we planned for...” excuse me, but every train journey I have been on with these trains has been overcrowded! And yet, despite every journey being overcrowded, the company have done nothing about it and pretend as though it rarely occurs. Sometimes while on the train, the employee managing the cart of food locks themselves away until the train is near enough empty. Sometimes there are no apologies for the overcrowding on the speakers. Sometimes it is just silent. The train itself is usually just 4 coaches and 1-2 first class coaches. It is a lucky day indeed if you manage to get one seat. Even then, it will probably turn out to be reserved. When comparing Cross Country trains to Virgin Trains - there is NO COMPARISON! Virgin trains are much better and actually put on extra coaches to cater for extra passengers. The train is absolutely disgraceful and if I could never go on one again I would. Alas, I still have to commute everyday... Hopefully, the company read their reviews and actually do something about the severe overcrowding. Instead of them knowing about the problem and pretending it isn’t there, how about they instead try to find a solution?

As usual, grossly overcrowded, with many people standing in the aisles. Easily the worst railway company in the UK and a major reason why I favour denationalisation. The parent company, Deutsch Bahn, wouldn't be allowed to get away with this to happen in Germany.

Cramped and smelly. Cramped and smelly. Can't think of another way to put it. I'd rather take a proper cattle class train India than pay to ride on a moving toilet

Book a window seat get a plastic panel. Train was packed. Staff not interested.

I booked a ticket online yesterday to travel today and although I requested to pick up at station the email specified I had to download an app to see my tickets. Firstly the app was not clearly identifiable from the description in the email and there was no hyperlink to it. Once i found app and downloaded no tickets appeared. I then had to resort to phoning the company relaying more numbers from the information tab on the app to then be given a different reference number so I could pick up my tickets at the station which is what I had requested in the first place!! I am an experienced traveller taking many trains in Belgium, France and Holland but less regular in the UK and now I know why! The system abroad is much less complicated you book and receive your bar code in your email, there is no jumping through hoops like I have had to do this morning. Absolutely unnecessarily complicated. Never again!

Can't fit even a small rucksack in overhead stowage space. I'm 6'1" and I can sit comfortably Ina standard seat unless I hunch over. During peak times only 3 standard carriages are available for the whole route from I think Leeds to Plymouth I get on at Bristol. They are hot trains that smell of sewage inmost areas, have absolutely annoying doors and stupid roller blinds. The window seat has a curved heating grate so you can't rest your foot on it making it even more cramped, the window arm rest doesn't raise so if you try to turn to the side slightly it wedged in your back. The only redeeming feature is that the staff are generally very nice. Oh the wifi doesn't work easily if you use an iPhone to pay by SMS well I gave up after 35 mins.

Paid for internet on board. Didn't work properly. Made a complaint and in their terms and conditions they suggest that its part of the agreement not to be able to listen or watch anything.

Took a 1st class journey from Edinburgh to Birmingham with Crosscountry Trains; worst journey ever. Despite purchasing a first class ticket there was no food available. Was told food would come on board at Newcastle, it didn't. Question: why wasn't food put on board at the start of the journey? Questions why was food that was being sold on board at the start of the journey, and picked up along the way? Shocking attitude from staff on board and at customer service centre; they didn't care less. On the way to Edinburgh we traveled with Virgin Trains. This was a first class journey. Complementary alcoholic drinks (you have to pay for them on Crosscountry) and hot food and snacks throughout the journey. Crosscountry are taking money from their passengers and not providing the service purchased. Will never travel with them again.

Hurrendous Crosscountry train from bristol to Cornwall!!! So dirty small smelly dark busy worst trains ive ever experienced!!! £116 pound!!! You robbing stinking animals!!! Dont ever use these filthy dirty dirty stinking small trains!!!! Dirty bastards!!!!

My grandson and I were travelling from Leeds to Edinburgh the other day. He had to stand the whole way as did a lot of other passengers. Aisles were blocked by passengers and luggage, surely a health and safety issue. The doors were blocked in the same way. The trolley could not ge through and the conductor suggested contacting customer services which I did. They stated that the train was not a carriage short, which the staff had told passengers that it was. There were a lot of excuses but no action. A song as they get their money then they don't care about customer comfort. Admittedly my grandson did not have a reserved seat although the ticket was bought at the same time as mine however, this is not a commuter train, it's a long distance train. They don't care about customers,just profits. I will never travel by cross country again, I would rather go a long way round in comfort than by these shylocks.

Horrendously filthy trains! My journey from Darlington to Newcastle and back was terrible! I had to change seats twice due to reservations screens being broken, I didn't get my reserved forward facing window and table seat and instead got a delightfully coffee stained, Greggs infested backward facing aisle seat. Coming back was a similar story, the table I had booked had something spilled on it with bottles of booze all over! I can't believe the best part of my trip was going on a made-in-the-70s racketbox train between Darlington and Middlesbrough!

the first time I had the misfortune of using this company was from Plymounth to Newcastle. The service began at Plymouth and as soon as I stepped onto the train I could feel the heat. The temperature outside was around 25 degrees, inside the train the tempurature was more like 35 degrees with a broken air conditioning system. To make things worse the train began to fill up and was heavily overcrowded, everyone was clearly uncomfortable. The company even dished out free water, 1 small bottle of warm water for everyone, joy! My point is they clearly knew about this fault before the service ran, disgusting that they still operated with this cabin. I asked the staff when I first got on about the heat, I was told if I didn't like it to get off and wait for the next service. I, like many other humans have something called time to consider during my daily life... The next use of this company... travelling from Newcastle to Edinburgh. I boarded the train and again it was overcrowded. I stood near the exit as it isn't a particularly long journey. Turns out it was shorter than I expected, it never left the station! They kept us on board for approx 1 hour before telling us the service was cancelled and to go via Carlisle/Glasgow/Edinburgh... They did say they were going to put on a bus service, however when at the information desk informed me they still had to arrange the whole thing... That little thing called time seems to escape this company. I ended up getting a hire car and driving, something I should have done from the start. My advice, book a hire car instead of using our rail service. If this isn't an option then avoid this company and use virgin trains instead (which I've used multiple times with no real issues, apart from overcrowding sometimes)