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Long-suffering rail passengers are still facing widespread disruption in 2026 - with CrossCountry branded the UK's worst train operator for cancellations so far this year. New analysis of official rail performance figures found almost one in 15 CrossCountry services were either fully or partly cancelled during the first three months of the year.

The operator recorded a "period cancellation score" of 6.8%, the highest of all 23 train companies assessed using Office of Rail and Road (ORR) data. Avanti West Coast was close behind on 6.4%, while East Midlands Railway ranked third worst with 4.8%. Govia Thameslink Railway and West Midlands Trains also performed poorly, posting cancellation scores of 4.4% and 4.2% respectively.

The figures were compiled by consumer site Locals Insider, which analysed both fully cancelled and part-cancelled services across Britain's rail network. Under the industry-standard measure, fully cancelled trains count as one cancellation while partly cancelled services count as 0.5. The findings highlight the continuing reliability problems plaguing parts of the rail network despite repeated promises of improvement.

CrossCountry and Avanti, which both operate major long-distance routes across Britain, were found to be significantly above the national average for disruption.

Martin Danemaq, spokesman for Locals Insider, said: "While there are signs of improvement across parts of the national rail network, our findings shows that disruption remains a real issue for many train passengers in 2026."

He noted that the disparity between operators is a major concern for commuters and long-distance travellers alike. He added: "Operators like CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast continue to sit well above the national average, particularly on longer-distance routes, with roughly one in 15 services disrupted."

Despite the poor performance of some, the data shows that high standards are being met elsewhere in the country. Mr Danemaq explained: "At the same time, it's clear that reliability is achievable.

Several operators are consistently keeping cancellations below 2%, which shows that a more dependable service is possible when the network is running effectively."

At the opposite end of the table, Hull Trains was named Britain's most reliable operator with a cancellation score of just 1.3%. Chiltern Railways followed on 1.5%, while ScotRail and c2c both recorded 1.6%. Greater Anglia and Southeastern also ranked among the strongest performers, each keeping cancellation rates below 2%.

Emphasising the "postcode lottery" of rail reliability, Mr Danemaq added: "For passengers, the gap between the best and worst operators is still significant - and where you travel in the UK can have a major impact on how reliable your journey is likely to be."

Nick Westcott, CrossCountry's service delivery director, said: "CrossCountry services between January and March 2026 were impacted by a number of exceptional circumstances. This included a higherthanusual number of incidents leaving trains in need of repair, as well as several tragic fatalities on the railway. These issues meant that more trains, and drivers, were unavailable than usual, restricting our ability to run our full timetable in the first part of the year.

"Since then, CrossCountry cancellations have reduced by 26%, and we continue to work hard to improve reliability and deliver better journeys for customers - including introducing additional longdistance services in our new timetable from Sunday 17 May and the continued refurbishment of our entire fleet to further improve journeys across the CrossCountry network."

Express.co.uk has also approached Avanti for comment.

Full 2026 cancellation rankings - most reliable to least reliable