CrossCountry cancelled almost all its train services across Great Britain on 23 August 2026 following a power outage at its control centre in Birmingham. The disruption led to widespread cancellations throughout the day.
Affected routes, limited services and ticket validity
Routes including Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff, and Newcastle to Edinburgh were cancelled for much of 23 August 2026. A limited number of trains resumed around 6pm that day. Services between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport continued running, while a rail replacement bus service operated between Leicester and Peterborough. CrossCountry allowed tickets purchased for services on 23 August to be used on other
train operators with matching routes and remained valid for travel on CrossCountry services until 26 August.
Chiltern Railways increased services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford and accepted all CrossCountry tickets on any reasonable route. LNER also agreed to accept CrossCountry tickets to assist affected passengers in reaching their destinations.
Official responses and restoration efforts
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed concern about the power outage and confirmed that Network Rail’s power teams were on site working to restore systems. She stated: “The service between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted is still running. I’ve asked publicly owned operators to lay on extra services where possible.”
A CrossCountry
spokesperson apologised for the unforeseen disruption and said they were coordinating with partners. The operator advised passengers to expect significant reductions and cancellations across nearly all routes throughout the day.
Passenger compensation and travel support
Passengers delayed by 30 minutes or more are entitled to compensation under delay repay rules. Refunds are available for those choosing not to travel on affected services. CrossCountry’s measures to support customers included ticket acceptance on other operators’ trains and rail replacement buses on some routes.
Background on CrossCountry’s operational challenges
This incident adds to CrossCountry’s operational difficulties in 2026. The train operator was previously warned by the passenger watchdog to improve performance and communication
during disruptions. A June 2026 survey from Transport Focus showed 79% customer satisfaction with CrossCountry services, below the 87% average for UK rail operators, primarily due to poor handling of delays.
