CrossCountry cancels UK trains due to Birmingham control centre power outage

Rail operator CrossCountry has cancelled almost all of its services across the UK following a significant power outage at its control centre in Birmingham. The disruption, which began on Saturday, has rendered many essential railway management systems unavailable, leading to widespread cancellations affecting routes from Glasgow to Penzance and Leeds to Manchester.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated she was concerned about the outage and has requested publicly owned operators to provide additional services where possible. Network Rail teams are currently on-site working to restore power and systems as quickly as possible.

Passengers have expressed frustration on social media, describing the situation as a "worst case scenario" for weekend travel. Major routes, including those between Manchester and Birmingham, and Leeds and York, are severely impacted. Fans travelling to football matches have been warned of extremely busy services to and from Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle.

CrossCountry has advised passengers that tickets bought for Sunday can be used with other train operators on the same route or remain valid on CrossCountry services until Wednesday. Chiltern Railways and London North Eastern Railway have confirmed they will accept CrossCountry tickets to help affected customers reach their destinations. Passengers delayed by 30 minutes or more are eligible for Delay Repay compensation, and those unable to travel can claim a refund.