Travel chaos across UK as CrossCountry cancels almost all trains after power cut

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:55, 23 August 2026 | Updated: 10:58, 23 August 2026 Major long-distance train operator CrossCountry has cancelled almost all of its rail services after a massive power cut hit its Birmingham headquarters. The company, which runs trains all over Britain, said that 'services across almost all routes will be withdrawn until further notice' and warned of 'significant disruption'. The power cut in Birmingham has meant CrossCountry's main control centre has been shut down, causing travel chaos as trains are halted across the UK. Major routes like services between Manchester and Birmingham,  Edinburgh and Glasgow, Newcastle and York and Bristol to Cardiff are all not running. It is unclear when routes will return to normal, as the company has said trains have been withdrawn 'until further notice' and warned passengers to plan ahead of their journeys. Just one route run by the company is still in 'near normal' service between Peterborough and Stansted Airport, calling at March, Ely and Cambridge. Full refunds are available to those who decide not to travel, and tickets are being accepted on any reasonable route on all other train companies' services, National Rail Enquiries said. Tickets bought today for CrossCountry services will remain valid for travel on the company's trains up until Wednesday, August 26, a National Rail spokesman said. All but one CrossCountry train service has been cancelled today after a power cut at the rail operators Birmingham headquarters spells travel chaos up and down the country CrossCountry's expansive network is nearly completely down, except for service between Peterborough and Stansted Airport A spokesman for CrossCountry said: 'A power cut in Birmingham city centre has affected the building where our control centre is located. As a result, many of the systems our control teams use to manage the railway are currently unavailable.' Previous power cuts have plagued train passengers' journeys very recently too, when on August 6, a similar blackout in Manchester and the Network Rail control centre led to chaos across north-western England - halting trains as a safety precaution. That time, a fault at a transformer caused the issue and affected 5,000 homes and businesses in Ardwick, including Network Rail's Manchester Rail Operating Centre. This morning, a spokesperson commented on CrossCountry's current shutdown: 'Although colleagues are working hard to safely operate services using alternative processes, CrossCountry services will be significantly disrupted on Sunday Aug 23. 'While we will run as many trains as possible, passengers should expect significant reductions to services and cancellations across almost all routes throughout the day. We are sorry to passengers affected by this significant and unforeseen disruption. 'Ticket acceptance is in place with other train operators, and customers will be entitled to Delay Repay compensation. Customers who choose not to travel can claim a refund from their original point of purchase.' To be eligible for Delay Repay compensation, a customer's train must be delayed by more than half an hour. This can be claimed from the train company via its website.