CrossCountry, a major long-distance train operator in the United Kingdom, has canceled almost all of its rail services due to a significant power cut at its Birmingham headquarters. The incident has crippled the company's main control center, leading to widespread travel disruption across Britain.
Services on nearly all routes have been withdrawn until further notice, with the company warning passengers of "significant disruption." Key routes affected include services between Manchester and Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Newcastle and York, and Bristol to Cardiff. It remains unclear when normal operations will resume.
Currently, only one route operated by CrossCountry is running in near-normal service: the line between Peterborough and Stansted Airport, with intermediate stops at March, Ely, and Cambridge.
"A power cut in Birmingham city centre has affected the building where our control centre is located," a spokesman for CrossCountry stated. "As a result, many of the systems our control teams use to manage the railway are currently unavailable."
Passengers who choose not to travel are eligible for full refunds from their original point of purchase. Tickets bought for CrossCountry services on the day of the disruption will remain valid for travel on the company's trains until Wednesday, August 26. Furthermore, tickets are being accepted on any reasonable route with other train companies, according to National Rail Enquiries.
Passengers whose trains are delayed by more than half an hour may be eligible for Delay Repay compensation, which can be claimed via the train company's website. This incident follows a similar power outage on August 6 that caused chaos across northwestern England when a fault at a transformer affected Network Rail's Manchester Rail Operating Centre and thousands of homes and businesses.