CrossCountry cancelled almost all its train services nationwide on Sunday, August 23, 2026, following a power outage at its control centre in Birmingham the previous day. The outage disabled key railway management systems, forcing widespread service suspensions.
Major Route Disruptions Across the UK
Nearly all CrossCountry routes experienced significant cancellations, including Glasgow to Penzance, Leeds to Manchester, Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff, and Newcastle to Edinburgh. Only the corridor between Peterborough, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport maintained an almost normal timetable due to planned engineering work.
Alternate Rail Operator Arrangements and Ticket Validity
To assist passengers, Chiltern Railways introduced additional services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford, accepting CrossCountry tickets
on any reasonable route. London North Eastern Railway also honoured CrossCountry tickets to support affected travellers. Tickets originally issued for August 23 remain valid on CrossCountry and partner services through Wednesday, August 26.
Passenger Advice and Official Responses
Passengers delayed by 30 minutes or more qualify for Delay Repay compensation, while refunds are available for those opting not to travel. CrossCountry issued an apology for the unforeseen disruption and urged passengers to verify journey details via National Rail Enquiries.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed concern about the outage’s impact, stating, “I am concerned to hear about a power outage affecting CrossCountry rail services today, which
I know will be very frustrating to passengers.” She confirmed that Network Rail deployed power teams to the Birmingham site and requested publicly owned operators to add extra services where possible.
Restoration Efforts and Current Service Status
Network Rail power teams remain on site working to restore power and critical systems at the Birmingham control centre. CrossCountry is collaborating with partners to resume normal operations. Meanwhile, limited routes like Peterborough to Stansted Airport continue to operate near normal schedules amidst ongoing recovery efforts.
