CrossCountry, a major long-distance train operator in the UK, has canceled almost all of its services due to a significant power cut affecting its main control center in Birmingham. The disruption, which began early Sunday, August 23, 2026, has led to widespread travel chaos across Britain.
Services on major routes including those between Manchester and Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Newcastle and York, and Bristol and Cardiff have been halted. The company has stated that services across almost all routes will be withdrawn until further notice, warning passengers of substantial disruption. The exact timeline for restoring normal service remains unclear.
A spokesperson for CrossCountry explained that the power cut in Birmingham city center impacted the building housing their control center, rendering many essential systems unavailable. While staff are attempting to operate services using alternative methods, the company anticipates significant reductions and cancellations throughout the day.
Only one route, between Peterborough and Stansted Airport, remains in near-normal service. This line calls at March, Ely, and Cambridge.
Passengers affected by the cancellations are eligible for full refunds from their original point of purchase. Tickets purchased for CrossCountry services on Sunday will be valid for travel up to Wednesday, August 26. The company also confirmed that ticket acceptance is in place with other train operators for those who still need to travel. Customers may also be entitled to Delay Repay compensation if their journey is delayed by more than 30 minutes, claimable via the train company's website.
This incident echoes a similar disruption on August 6, when a power outage in Manchester affecting the Network Rail control center led to significant chaos and train halts in northwest England. That earlier event was attributed to a fault at a transformer.