Wakefield Westgate railway station in the context of "Cross Country Route"

The Cross Country Route is a long-distance railway route in England, which runs from Bristol Temple Meads to York via Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield and Leeds or Doncaster. Inter-city services on the route, which include some of the longest passenger journeys in the UK such as Aberdeen to Plymouth, are operated by CrossCountry.

It is classed as a high-speed line because its sections from Birmingham to Wakefield Westgate and from Leeds to York have a speed limit of 125 mph (200 km/h); however, the section from Birmingham to Bristol is limited to 100 mph (160 km/h) because of numerous level crossings, especially half-barrier level crossings, and the section from Wakefield to Leeds has the same limit because of a number of curves.