CrossCountry cancelled nearly all its train services across the UK on 26 August 2026 following a power outage at its Birmingham control centre. The disruption has affected key routes city-wide, including those between Glasgow and Penzance and Leeds to Manchester.
Official Response and Restoration Efforts
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed concern over the power failure and has asked publicly owned rail operators to increase services to support impacted passengers. Network Rail dispatched power teams to the site to restore power and management systems as quickly as possible.
Passenger Impact and Ticket Validity
The outage caused widespread cancellations with no clear timeline for full service restoration. Passengers at major hubs like
Birmingham New Street encountered open barriers and announcements detailing the ongoing disruption. CrossCountry extended the validity of Sunday tickets until Wednesday, offering compensation options for delays over 30 minutes or full refunds for unused journeys.
Passenger Experiences
Passengers reported significant frustration. Football fan Reese Proctor described the cancellations as “frustrating and unacceptable” after having to drive more than 100 miles to reach a 14:00 BST match at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium. Another social media user condemned CrossCountry, calling the operator “utterly useless” after trains were cancelled both ways during their journey to Birmingham.
Mitigation Measures and Alternative Services
Other rail companies are assisting by accepting CrossCountry tickets. Chiltern
Railways added services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford and accepts CrossCountry tickets via reasonable routes. London North Eastern Railway has also agreed to honour these tickets. National Rail permits affected CrossCountry passengers to use London Underground without extra cost and West Midlands Metro trams between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street. CrossCountry’s sole near-normal service today runs between Peterborough, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport. The operator apologized to customers and confirmed ongoing collaboration with partners to resolve the issue.
