One of the largest UK rail operators, CrossCountry, has been attacked over its poor service. The Transport Secretary expressed serious concerns about the high cancellation rate of the company and poor service. The government has agreed to a temporary reduced timetable, but says it wants to see rapid improvements and will take further action if the service does not improve.

One of the largest rail operators in the UK, CrossCountry, has faced increasing criticism due to its poor performance, and the government is now weighing in with serious warnings. An unreliable service rakes in frequent cancellations that passengers have been having to bear with, which has got so bad that even the Transport Secretary is getting involved.

In a strongly worded letter, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said she had “serious concerns” over how CrossCountry has been running its services. The Transport Secretary explicitly told the company’s interim directors that if things do not get better soon, the government may have to take more drastic measures.

Troubles Mount for CrossCountry

The key issue today is a recent decision by CrossCountry to cut back on the number of trains it runs every day. According to the company, this reduction is necessary to handle the backlog of training drivers have needed. This has recently been exacerbated by strikes, which have interfered with the usual training schedules.

The reduced timetable, which came into effect on 10 August and is due to run until 9 November, has not gone down well. Many of its passengers use the services offered by CrossCountry to cover journeys between major cities in England and Scotland, such as Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Manchester. Now, with fewer trains to run, passengers are getting worried about how it’s going to affect their daily commutes and travel plans.

CrossCountry has admitted, in response to the criticism, that its service hasn’t come up to the mark. It apologized for the hassle caused by its new timetable and assured that this temporary reduction will give way to a more reliable service in the long run. It added that despite fewer trains, 97% of the usual daily seats would still be available to passengers.

Government Steps In

The Transport Secretary is not convinced that this temporary fix is enough. According to her letter, Ms. Haigh noted that CrossCountry’s rate of train cancellations has increased drastically over the past year. She further commented that the company itself was forecasting a breach of the contractual targets for cancellations in the coming months—something that was quite simply unacceptable.

Ms. Haigh reluctantly agreed to the reduced timetable, but it is a means of giving passengers more certainty about which services will actually run. She said that this is not the permanent solution that is needed but added that CrossCountry needs to get its act together quickly.

The government has placed CrossCountry on a “remedial plan” to ensure the rail operator is holding up its end of the bargain in terms of taking necessary steps for improvement. Furthermore, CrossCountry will not be able to make any profit off the reduced services, thus heaping more pressure on the firm to fix its problems.

Ms. Haigh has been clear that she will not hesitate to take further action if CrossCountry does not deliver on this plan. Indeed, that could mean the government stepping in to take over the services if the operator doesn’t improve.

CrossCountry Response:

CrossCountry has acknowledged on its part that its service had fallen below the standards that passengers should expect of it. The firm admitted that “on-the-day cancellations” have become too common, which in turn affects the poor quality and reliability of their service. It apologized for the inconvenience the temporary timetable might cause but insisted it is a necessary step to fix the bigger problems.

The company has explained that by the end of this temporary timetable period, it will have more fully trained drivers able to work across the network. That will assist in giving a more consistent and reliable service to our passengers.

Looking Ahead

The CrossCountry network is vital, linking many of the UK’s largest cities. Their recent service problems have put a question mark over who should run the country’s rail services. Labour has announced plans to renationalize almost all passenger rail services as private contracts come to an end – CrossCountry is one of those operators whose future will be determined by that policy.

The contract for CrossCountry, agreed upon by the previous Conservative government, began in October last year and is due to run until October 2031. Against the backdrop of mounting government pressure and disgruntled passengers, it remains to be seen whether CrossCountry can see through its commitments under this contract or whether more fundamental changes are on the way.

For now, passengers have to put up with these reduced services and hope the improvements promised by the plan come sooner rather than later. Quite clearly, government intervention signals a definite demand for better service, in which CrossCountry has lots of catching up to do.