Stories

Mon, 24 Aug 2026

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 CrossCountry train services resume after outage

It follows major national rail disruption at the weekend.

* CrossCountry expects to run a full service on Monday after cancelling nearly all UK services due to a power cut at its control centre in Birmingham.
* Major routes were affected, including those between Birmingham and Manchester, Leeds to York, and Cheltenham to Cardiff.
* On Monday morning, there were still some cancellations, but these were attributed to trains departing late and staff shortages.
* Customers are advised to check their journey before travelling.
* Tickets purchased for travel on CrossCountry services on Sunday will be valid until Wednesday.
* Passengers shared personal experiences of the disruption, with many expressing frustration and disappointment.
* The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has called for a review of railway operational control centres to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
* Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "concerned" by the situation and praised the decision to nationalize services.
* CrossCountry was ranked Britain's worst rail operator in June.