CrossCountry train services have been cancelled “across almost all routes” on Sunday following a power cut.
The train operator said a power outage in Birmingham affected its control centre, resulting in many of the systems used to manage the railway being unavailable.
Most services will be cancelled until further notice – including popular routes linking 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 “due to the impact of planned engineering work”, the company said.
A rail replacement bus service will remain in place as planned between Leicester and Peterborough.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I am concerned to hear about a power outage affecting CrossCountry rail services today, which I know will be very frustrating to passengers.
“The service between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted is still running.
“I’ve asked publicly owned operators to lay on extra services where possible. We’ve also sent Network Rail power teams who are onsite and working to restore power and systems as soon as possible.”
⚠️ Services across the CrossCountry network will be significantly disrupted on Sunday 23 August due to a power cut affecting our control centre
Significant reductions to services and cancellations are expected across almost all routes
For more info:- https://t.co/MPIUm3OpAD
— CrossCountry Trains (@CrossCountryUK) August 23, 2026
Customers have complained about the disruption on social media, with some describing the cancellations as “very frustrating”.
CrossCountry has responded to many posts from ticket-holders on X, apologising and advising of alternative routes.
Jeff Prestridge, a semi-retired editor from Wokingham, Berkshire, was critical of CrossCountry.
Mr Prestridge, who has been a West Bromwich Albion season ticket holder for more than 30 years, had planned to travel to his team’s stadium on Sunday to see them play Burnley from 12pm, but his journey was cancelled.
He told the Press Association: “I woke up this morning to see a kindly message from Trainline, who I booked through, to tell me that the service had been cancelled.
“I then received another email, subsequent to that, telling me that the return trip was cancelled also.
“I looked at going to Reading via a service up to Birmingham from there, but I wouldn’t have got there till half-time so, sadly, I’m still in Wokingham.”
Mr Prestridge added: “It’s so frustrating because, you know, CrossCountry, that service is substandard. It truly is.
“I mean, the number of cancellations on it, and also the number of times that I’ve got on it when it’s been packed because they’ve only run a set of four coaches.
“And if that service is going from Bournemouth up to Manchester, I mean it’s dreadful.
“Or, you know, I’ve sometimes got it from Birmingham back to Reading, and it’s been packed.”
Mr Prestridge said he understood the power failure may not have been within CrossCountry’s control, but described the train operator as “by far the worst” and said he “would like to see the service improve”.
The West Brom fan said he has not heard from CrossCountry despite writing to the train operator on X.
Tickets bought for travel on CrossCountry services on Sunday can still be used with other train operators on the same route.
The tickets will also remain valid on CrossCountry services until Wednesday.
A power failure at @CrossCountryUK’s control centre means their trains can’t run today, so the industry is pulling together to keep customers moving.
In order to help, we have added services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford and are accepting all CrossCountry tickets… pic.twitter.com/1Y7UJex8uk
— Chiltern Railways (@chilternrailway) August 23, 2026
Chiltern Railways said it had added services between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford to help with the disruption, adding it will accept “all CrossCountry tickets via any reasonable route”.
London North Eastern Railway also confirmed it would accept CrossCountry tickets “to help get affected customers to their destination”.
Customers can apply for Delay Repay compensation if their train is delayed by 30 minutes or more, while those who choose not to travel can claim a refund.
People planning on travelling on Sunday are advised to check their journey with National Rail Enquiries.
One customer said on X: “Why have all @CrossCountryUK trains to Manchester been cancelled today? Very frustrating when you have booked in advance. The app says go on train before or after but all trains are cancelled.”
A CrossCountry spokesperson said: “While we will run as many trains as possible, passengers should expect significant reductions to services and cancellations across almost all CrossCountry routes throughout the day.
“We are sorry to passengers affected by this significant and unforeseen disruption.”
They added: “We are working closely with relevant partners and will provide further updates as soon as possible.”
Another power outage earlier in August had caused delays and cancellations on CrossCountry services across the Midlands and north-west England.
Electricity had cut out in the main control hub for north-west England’s railways – the Manchester Rail Operating Centre – also affecting Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales services.
Earlier this year, CrossCountry was told to raise its performance after receiving the worst score in a survey of more than 100,000 passengers.
Watchdog Transport Focus said in June that 79% of passengers were satisfied with the Arriva Group-owned operator.
Hull Trains achieved the best overall satisfaction score at 94%, followed by LNER (93%).
