CrossCountry cancelled almost all its train services across Great Britain on Sunday, 23 August 2026, after a power cut disrupted its control centre in Birmingham.
Affected routes and replacement services
Major routes including Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff, and Newcastle to Edinburgh were cancelled. The train service between Peterborough, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport continued to operate. A rail replacement bus service ran between Leicester and Peterborough.
Service resumption and ticket policies
CrossCountry planned to operate a limited number of trains starting from around 6pm on Sunday, with a return to normal service expected the following day, Monday, 24 August 2026. Tickets bought for CrossCountry services on
Sunday remained valid on CrossCountry trains until Wednesday, 26 August 2026, and could be used on other train operators serving the same routes.
Chiltern Railways increased services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford and accepted CrossCountry tickets on any reasonable route. LNER also accepted CrossCountry tickets to assist customers affected by the disruption. Passengers with delays of 30 minutes or more were eligible for delay repay compensation, and full refunds were available to those who chose not to travel.
Official response and context
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed concern about the power outage and its impact on CrossCountry services, stating, “I’ve asked publicly owned
operators to lay on extra services where possible. We’ve also sent Network Rail power teams who are on site and working to restore power and systems as soon as possible.” She confirmed that the Peterborough to Stansted service was still operational.
A CrossCountry spokesperson apologised for the “significant and unforeseen disruption” and said the operator was working closely with partners to restore services while advising passengers to expect widespread service reductions throughout the day.
Earlier in 2026, passenger watchdog Transport Focus reported CrossCountry customers had the lowest satisfaction ranking regarding delay handling, at 79% compared to an 87% overall rail
satisfaction rate. Transport Focus urged CrossCountry in June 2026 to improve passenger information during disruptions and address overcrowding on its trains.
