Business & Finance

CrossCountry plans return to full service following widespread Sunday cancellations

A power outage at the rail operator's Birmingham control center caused nationwide cancellations before partial evening restorations.

Updated Aug 24, 2026 · 00:18 UTC2 reports

The short version

CrossCountry canceled the vast majority of its UK train services on Sunday following a power cut at its Birmingham operational control center that started Saturday.
A limited number of services resumed Sunday evening, with the operator stating it plans to run a full timetable on Monday.
Passengers experienced severe travel disruption across major national corridors, with alternative operators accepting CrossCountry tickets through Wednesday.
The RMT union has demanded a formal review of railway control center resilience to prevent similar system failures.

A power outage that began on Saturday at CrossCountry's Birmingham control center disabled systems used to manage rail services, triggering mass cancellations across Britain on Sunday.[BBC News · BBC News]
The disruptions affected long-distance corridors across the UK, including routes connecting Glasgow, Penzance, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Edinburgh.[BBC News]
A limited number of CrossCountry services resumed around 18:00 BST on Sunday, primarily between Birmingham New Street, Leicester, and Derby, alongside services between Peterborough, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport.[BBC News · BBC News]
CrossCountry announced plans to operate a full train timetable on Monday as recovery efforts continued in coordination with National Grid.[BBC News]
CrossCountry tickets issued for Sunday travel remain valid until Wednesday, with other operators including Chiltern Railways, London North Eastern Railway, and Great Western Railway accepting tickets to ease disruptions.[BBC News]
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander highlighted government plans to nationalize services including CrossCountry under Great British Railways next year to address operational vulnerabilities.[BBC News]

Whether CrossCountry will successfully operate its full scheduled timetable on Monday without residual delays or cancellations remains unverified until morning operations begin.[BBC News]