Major UK train operator cancels most services after Birmingham power outage

UK train operator CrossCountry cancelled almost all its services across the country on Sunday after a power outage at its control center in Birmingham.

The outage left systems used by the operator's control teams to manage its rail network unavailable, causing what CrossCountry described as “significant disruption.”

CrossCountry said it would operate as many trains as possible but warned passengers to expect “significant reductions to services and cancellations across almost all CrossCountry routes throughout the day.”

The disruption affected major routes, including Birmingham-Manchester, Glasgow-Edinburgh and York-Newcastle.

The cancellations also coincided with several football matches on Sunday, with National Rail warning that alternative services to Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle were expected to be “extremely busy.”

Services between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport, however, were operating at normal levels.

The company said ticket holders could use other train operators where ticket acceptance arrangements were in place. Passengers who faced delays may be eligible for Delay Repay compensation, while those who chose not to travel could claim refunds from their original point of purchase.