CrossCountry power cut cancellations have brought most of the operator’s UK rail network to a standstill after an outage struck its Birmingham control centre on Saturday, leaving passengers stranded across routes from Glasgow to Penzance.
The loss of power took down many of the systems CrossCountry uses to manage its railway, the company said, triggering what it described as ‘significant and unforeseen disruption’. CrossCountry, which was ranked Britain’s worst rail operator in June, apologised to affected passengers and confirmed that cancellations would continue until further notice.
Which routes are affected by the CrossCountry power cut cancellations?
The disruption is sweeping in its reach. Major routes between Manchester and Birmingham, passing through Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry and Wolverhampton, are cancelled. So too are services on the Leeds to York corridor, Cheltenham to Cardiff, and Glasgow to Edinburgh. Routes to Plymouth and Penzance are disrupted, with CrossCountry directing customers towards Great Western Railway as a replacement on those services.
CrossCountry said the only route expecting a ‘near-normal’ service was between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport. The operator usually serves more than 100 stations across Britain.
Fans heading to football fixtures on Sunday have been warned that services to and from Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle might be ‘extremely busy’, and that they may need to stand for part or all of their journey.
Other operators step in to carry CrossCountry passengers
Several operators have moved to fill the gap. According to The Guardian, Chiltern Railways added services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford and said it would accept all CrossCountry tickets via any reasonable route. LNER also confirmed it would accept CrossCountry tickets to help get affected customers to their destinations.
CrossCountry itself confirmed that tickets were being accepted by other operators more broadly. National Rail added that affected customers could use London Underground services at no extra cost, along with West Midlands Metro services between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street.
Tickets purchased for CrossCountry travel on Sunday will remain valid until Wednesday, the company confirmed.
Passenger frustration spills onto social media
Anger has been building on social media throughout Sunday, with many passengers describing the situation as the ‘worst case scenario’ for a weekend. Some have resorted to taking coaches for part of their journey before switching to another operator’s train to complete their trip.
One passenger, posting on X, wrote: ‘A massive thank you to Cross Country Trains for cancelling my train this morning to Birmingham. You are truly not fit for service. You have also cancelled my train coming back but that is immaterial. Useless. Utterly useless.’
At Birmingham New Street station, barriers to all platforms are open and regular announcements are being made to keep passengers informed. Digital boards in the concourse are carrying a Special Notice about the CrossCountry cancellations.
Compensation and Monday outlook
Passengers whose journeys were delayed by 30 minutes or more are entitled to Delay Repay compensation. Those who chose not to travel at all can claim a full refund for their ticket.
‘We are working closely with relevant partners and will provide further updates as soon as possible,’ a CrossCountry spokesperson said.
The disruption is expected to be short-lived. According to Yahoo Finance, a full CrossCountry service is expected to operate on Monday 24 August, giving passengers who can delay their travel a clearer run from the start of the working week.
