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Sun, 23 Aug 2026

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 CrossCountry cancels 'almost all' UK services after power cut

Customers say the disruption to virtually all UK CrossCountry services is the "worst case scenario".
A power outage at CrossCountry's control centre in Birmingham has caused widespread disruptions to train services across the UK. Cancellations have affected routes between Glasgow and Penzance, Leeds and Manchester, as well as other major routes. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed concern about the situation and asked publicly owned operators to provide extra services where possible. Passengers are taking to social media to express their frustration, with some describing the situation as "the worst case scenario". CrossCountry has confirmed that tickets for Sunday will remain valid until Wednesday. Affected customers can use alternative train services or claim compensation if their journey is delayed by 30 minutes or more. Football fans travelling to matches have been warned to expect extremely busy services between Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle. Some passengers are taking coaches instead of trains due to the cancellations. Chiltern Railways has added extra services to help with the disruption, while London North Eastern Railway will accept CrossCountry tickets to help affected customers reach their destinations.