Rail passengers face a day of disruption as almost all CrossCountry services are cancelled today, including those in Manchester, after a power cut hit the company's control centre in Birmingham.
The power cut began yesterday (August 22) and many of the systems used to manage the railway remain unavailable this morning (Sunday), the company said. CrossCountry runs regular services between Manchester Piccadilly and Bournemouth, via Stockport and cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Southampton.
Services withdrawn across almost all routes
All these services are currently listed as cancelled on National Rail's departures board for Piccadilly today. CrossCountry says services have been withdrawn across almost all of its routes today, except services between Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
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.
"Although colleagues are working hard to safely operate services using alternative processes, CrossCountry services will be significantly disrupted on Sunday, August 23. 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.
Refunds and ticket acceptance
"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. We are working closely with relevant partners and will provide further updates as soon as possible."
National Rail says CrossCountry tickets for today will be accepted on services until Wednesday at no extra cost. They can also be used on Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, East Midlands Railway, Grand Central, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, London Northwestern Railway, London Underground, Lumo, Northern, ScotRail, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway services today.
