Trains across the UK have been cancelled by rail operator CrossCountry after a power cut at its control centre.
The power outage started in Birmingham on Saturday and as a result, many of the systems used to manage the railway are unavailable, the operator said.
Cancellations are affecting most routes, from Glasgow to Penzance and Leeds to Manchester, until further notice because of “significant and unforeseen disruption”, said CrossCountry, ranked Britain’s worst rail operator, in June.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “concerned to hear about a power outage” and had asked publicly owned operators to provide “extra services where possible”.
“We’ve also sent Network Rail power teams who are onsite and working to restore power and systems as soon as possible,” she added.
Passengers are venting their anger on social media, saying the situation is the “worst case scenario” at the weekend, with some taking coaches before continuing their train journey with another operator.
Major routes between Manchester and Birmingham, which passes through Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry and Wolverhampton, along with routes from Leeds to York, Cheltenham to Cardiff and Glasgow to Edinburgh, are all affected.
