CrossCountry warning to rail customers ahead of New Year

Train passengers are being urged to double-check their journeys ahead of New Year's Eve[1]. CrossCountry services are expected to be busier than usual on Saturday, December 20 and Sunday, December 21.

A shortage of train crew members could also lead to higher train cancellations[2], according to the rail operator, so customers are advised to check their entire journey before travelling. Although all CrossCountry routes could be impacted, routes expected to be particularly badly affected include Cardiff to Nottingham via Birmingham and Leeds to Edinburgh via Newcastle.

Rail services across all train operators[3] will finish earlier than normal on New Year’s Eve so that planned engineering work can take place on the rail network over the bank holiday. Planned upgrades in the Birmingham New Street station area on New Year’s Day will mean journeys will be 30 minutes longer on several routes.

Cross Country is allowing customers with tickets purchased on or before Thursday, December 28 to travel on Saturday, December 30 or Monday, January 1 instead, for no additional charge.

Mark Goodall, CrossCountry’s Service Delivery Director, said: "We know that many people are travelling over the festive period and we’re sorry that services around New Year’s Eve this year are likely to be impacted by train crew availability. I’d ask that customers check before they travel and continue to be respectful to on-train colleagues who are working as hard as they can to get people where they want to be.”

The latest travel information can be found on the CrossCountry website.

For more local news stories, subscribe to our newsletter online here[5].

References

  1. ^ New Year's Eve (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  2. ^ higher train cancellations (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  3. ^ services across all train operators (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  4. ^ The hundreds of East Midlands Airport flights arriving every night without a single passenger (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  5. ^ online here (data.reachplc.com)

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