CrossCountry has confirmed it expects to run a full train service on Monday, August 24, after a power cut in Birmingham city centre forced the cancellation of almost all services on Sunday. The outage affected the operator's control centre, leaving many railway management systems unavailable and causing major disruption across the network.
Power cut forces widespread cancellations
Today's disruption (Sunday, August 23) began when the power cut hit CrossCountry's control centre in Birmingham. The loss of power meant systems used to manage the railway were unavailable, and train services across almost all CrossCountry routes were withdrawn until further notice.
A spokesperson for CrossCountry said: "Our key priority is now to restore as close to a normal service as possible for our customers tomorrow." The operator has been working to reinstate facilities throughout the day, with most systems now back online.
Limited services resume from 6pm
From around 6pm this evening, CrossCountry plans to operate a very limited number of trains, primarily on routes towards Leicester and Derby. The spokesperson added: "With most facilities now reinstated, we are planning to operate a very limited number of services from around 6pm this evening, primarily on routes towards Leicester and Derby."
Planning is now underway to support a full train service on Monday, with the operator working closely with National Grid and industry partners as recovery efforts continue.
Advice for affected passengers
Passengers are still being strongly advised to check their journey details on www.nationalrail.co.uk before travelling. Ticket acceptance remains in place with other train operators across the CrossCountry network, and anyone delayed by 30 minutes or more may be entitled to Delay Repay compensation.
Those who choose not to travel can claim a refund from their original point of purchase. Further updates are available at www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-information.
The spokesperson concluded: "We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during today's disruption."
