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CrossCountry cancels almost all services after power cut hits control centre

CrossCountry has cancelled nearly all train services across Great Britain today, Sunday 23 August 2026, due to a power cut at its Birmingham control centre.

  • Almost all CrossCountry services in Great Britain are cancelled until further notice.
  • The disruption is due to a power cut affecting the control centre in Birmingham.
  • Tickets for Sunday can be used with other operators on the same route or remain valid on CrossCountry services until Wednesday 26 August.

CrossCountry has cancelled almost all of its train services in Great Britain today, Sunday 23 August 2026. The widespread cancellations follow a power cut that affected the operator's control centre in Birmingham.

Most services are cancelled until further notice, impacting routes including Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff, and Newcastle to Edinburgh. A near-normal service is expected between Peterborough, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport, with a planned rail replacement bus service operating between Leicester and Peterborough.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated her concern regarding the outage and has asked publicly owned operators to provide extra services where possible. Network Rail power teams are on site working to restore power and systems.

CrossCountry tickets for Sunday can be used with other train operators on the same route, and will remain valid on CrossCountry services until Wednesday 26 August. Chiltern Railways and LNER have confirmed they will accept CrossCountry tickets.

What this means for you: If you are travelling with CrossCountry today, expect significant reductions and cancellations. Your ticket for Sunday can be used with other train operators on the same route, or remains valid on CrossCountry services until Wednesday 26 August. You are entitled to delay repay compensation if your train is delayed by 30 minutes or more, or a refund if you choose not to travel.

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