Almost all Cross Country train services have been cancelled today following a major power cut in Birmingham city centre. Services to destinations including Edinburgh, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Exeter, Penzance, Cardiff and Bournemouth have been withdrawn "until further notice" as a result of the outage.
Power cut hits control centre
The operator said the power outage is affecting the building where its control centre is located, leaving "many" of the systems used to manage the railway "unavailable". Only services running to Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport will operate a "near-normal" service, according to Cross Country.
A CrossCountry spokesperson 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."
Disruption expected throughout the day
The spokesperson added: "Although colleagues are working hard to safely operate services using alternative processes, CrossCountry services will be significantly disrupted on Sunday 23 August. While we will run as many trains as possible, passengers should expect significant reductions to services and cancellations across almost all CrossCountry routes throughout the day."
Other train operators managing services from Birmingham city centre, including Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Railway, Transport for Wales and Chiltern Railways, are not affected.
Passengers advised to check before travelling
Cross Country has urged customers to check before they travel. Passengers booked on the cancelled services can use their tickets to travel with other relevant operators.
National Rail said: "A power failure within CrossCountry HQ means they will be unable to run most of their services today, Sunday 23 August. CrossCountry service between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport will be able to run."
