CrossCountry services cancelled between Nottingham and Cardiff Central all day

Cross Country has apologised for the disruption on the lines between Nottingham and Cardiff Central, which it says has been caused due to staff shortages and will last all day

Christmas travel plans have been plunged into chaos today as several CrossCountry trains will be cancelled.

Some services running between Nottingham and Cardiff Central are set to be axed throughout the day due to staff shortages. The disruption will last all day, CrossCountry says.

It means thousands of people will be scrambling for alternative arrangements to get home or to relatives’ addresses ahead of the Christmas period today. Fewer services will be running to and from Nottingham on the line, which runs through Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester among other towns and cities.

A statement on National Rail’s website reads: “A shortage of train crew means that fewer trains than normal are able to run between Nottingham and Cardiff Central. As a result of this, trains running between these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.”

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It is unclear what has led to the staff shortage, though it is believed this will be retified in time for tomorrow’s services between Nottingham and Cardiff Central. Typically, there is one direct train from the two stations every hour but there will be fewer today.

The National Rail site adds: “Your ticket can be used at no extra cost on the following services and routes:

“Between Birmingham and Cardiff Central;

• “Travel using CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Bristol Parkway, changing there for Great Western Railway services to Cardiff Central… You do not need to amend your ticket to use it on these services.

“If your CrossCountry train is cancelled, then you can use your ticket on the two CrossCountry services operating before and the two CrossCountry services after your cancelled service

“If you decide to travel from a different station due to this disruption and need to return to that station later, you will also be able to use your existing ticket to do this at no extra cost.”

UK roads are, meanwhile, set to become carnage as the country can expect one of the busiest days for traffic in the Christmas period. Millions of drivers will be making journeys ahead of Christmas as those still working will also still be carrying out their daily commute.

There is expected to be about 24 million cars on UK roads according to the AA, slightly lower than the peak for the festive season that was seen on Friday. As the roads are predicted to be full the weather is anticipated to continue to cause disruption with showers forecast in northern Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Motorists battled some tricky conditions on Sunday as mist shrouded parts of the UK on the shortest day of the year.