'Its always a last resort' – Train services through West Midlands cut as CrossCountry doesn't have enough staff

It said the 'temporary' changes, which will start from August 10, are being put in place because of 'performance and reliability issues' as a result of missed critical training days required by train drivers which accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The changes will effect CrossCountry trains travelling through the West Midlands to destinations including Manchester as well as to the South West and Wales until November 9.

• There will be alterations to services from Manchester Piccadilly towards Birmingham New Street, although some services may terminate at different stations beyond Birmingham while the temporary timetable is in operation.

• Additional trains will call at Wilnecote and Willington to balance the impact of the temporary timetable on customers using these stations.

• And there will be fewer direct services from Reading to the North East while customers will instead be able to change trains at Birmingham New Street to continue their journey.

• The route between Cardiff and Nottingham will run around two-thirds as many services as it does currently, and some services will begin or end at different stations.

• The firm said reducing services on some routes over a 13-week period, while bolstering services with extra carriages wherever possible, will "retain maximum passenger capacity" on the CrossCountry network while working through as much of the necessary driver training as possible.

• The temporary timetable will reduce numbers of on-the-day cancellations, which it has said "cause the most inconvenience to passengers". It said a similar approach which was trialled over Easter led to a 94 per cent decrease in on-the-day cancellations.

• By the end of the temporary timetable, CrossCountry will have more fully-trained drivers able to work across the network and will have reduced its training backlog, providing a more reliable service for customers, with fewer cancel

Georgia Ehrmann, CrossCountry’s Regional Director for the West Midlands and North West, said: “Removing services from our timetable is always a last resort. I’m sorry for the inconvenience this will cause for our customers and I want to thank them for their patience while these changes are in place.

“This is a difficult decision, but by taking proactive action now we are investing in building a more resilient and dependable service for CrossCountry customers for the future.”

Bethan Jelfs, CrossCountry’s Regional Director for West and Wales, said: “Removing services from our timetable is always a last resort. I’m sorry for the inconvenience this will cause for our customers and I want to thank them for their patience while these changes are in place.

“This is a difficult decision, but by taking proactive action now we are investing in building a more resilient and dependable service for CrossCountry customers for the future."

A spokesperson for CrossCountry, said: "Customers who have tickets for travel on impacted services can travel on an alternative service or request a full refund.

"Passengers are advised to check their journey before travelling using the CrossCountry website or app or with National Rail Enquiries."