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Power cut cripples CrossCountry
CrossCountry cancelled almost all of its train services in Great Britain after a power cut in Birmingham hit its control centre on Sunday, leaving systems used to manage the railway unavailable.
“after a power cut in Birmingham hit its control centre on Sunday”
The cancellations covered routes including Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff and Newcastle to Edinburgh, while a near-normal service was expected between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
CrossCountry said a planned rail replacement bus service was running between Leicester and Peterborough, and it warned that services would be significantly disrupted until further notice.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was concerned about a power outage affecting CrossCountry rail services and that she had asked publicly owned operators to lay on extra services where possible.
The operator said it had sent Network Rail power teams who were onsite and working to restore power and systems as soon as possible.
Passengers, football crowds, and replies
The disruption coincided with several football matches on Sunday, with National Rail warning that other services to Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle would be "extremely busy" because of the cancellations.
CrossCountry told customers that tickets for its services on Sunday could be used with other train operators on the same route and would remain valid on CrossCountry services until Wednesday 26 August.
Customers complained on social media, including a user who asked on X: "Why have all @CrossCountryUK trains to Manchester been cancelled today? Very frustrating when you have booked in advance."
A CrossCountry spokesperson said: "While we will run as many trains as possible, passengers should expect significant reductions to services and cancellations across almost all CrossCountry routes throughout the day."
In response to disruption, CrossCountry also advised that customers could apply for Delay Repay compensation if their train was delayed by 30 minutes or more, while those who chose not to travel could claim a refund.
What happens next
CrossCountry’s cancellations were described as part of a broader pattern of delays and cancellations, with Transport Focus warning the operator this year that it needed to improve its performance.
“that fell to 79% for CrossCountry customers”
The Guardian reported that Transport Focus’s June survey found overall 87% of rail customers were satisfied, but that fell to 79% for CrossCountry customers, who were most dissatisfied with how the train operator had dealt with delays.
Heidi Alexander said she had asked publicly owned operators to lay on extra services where possible and that Network Rail power teams were working to restore power and systems as soon as possible.
CrossCountry said it expected significant reductions to services and cancellations across almost all routes throughout the day, while also stating that it would provide further updates as soon as possible.
For affected travellers, the sources said tickets could be accepted via “any reasonable route” by Chiltern Railways and that LNER would accept CrossCountry tickets “to help get affected customers to their destination”.