A power cut at CrossCountry’s control centre in Birmingham resulted in the cancellation of nearly all train services operated by the company across Great Britain on Sunday. The outage forced the suspension of major routes including Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff, and Newcastle to Edinburgh. The operator maintained a limited exception for services between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport, which continued operating under normal conditions. A planned rail replacement bus service was made available between Leicester and Peterborough to accommodate affected passengers.
CrossCountry anticipated resuming a minimal number of trains around 6pm that day, with expectations to restore normal operations by Monday. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander responded to the disruption by indicating that public sector rail operators had been asked to provide supplementary services where feasible. Network Rail power teams were deployed to the Birmingham facility to work on restoring electricity and related systems.
Passengers holding CrossCountry tickets for Sunday services were permitted to use alternative train operators on equivalent routes, with validity extended through Wednesday 26 August. Competitor operators Chiltern Railways and LNER announced they would accept CrossCountry tickets to assist stranded customers. The railway industry’s standard compensation framework applied to the incident, entitling passengers to delay repay compensation for services running 30 minutes late or longer, while those opting not to travel could request refunds.
The incident represented another operational disruption for CrossCountry, which has faced ongoing performance challenges. Earlier in the year, the passenger watchdog Transport Focus issued recommendations for the operator to enhance passenger communication during disruptions and address overcrowding concerns, noting that CrossCountry customers reported lower satisfaction levels than the broader rail industry average.
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