New CrossCountry app - doesn't allow changes to older bookings

[styles]

Pretty poor just to have a standard HTTP code page at an address that people will likely have bookmarked isn't it? They should at least have a holding page with a link to the new page, if only to stop people thinking that they can't buy tickets from Crosscountry any more and going off to another site.

The page is working again now for what it's worth. The 410 Gone page may have just been a temporary measure.

Yeah I'm sure they could produce a better error page than an nginx default error page, but if they had to pull it down in a rush for some reason then it seems fair.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Nonsense, they can just point the DNS at any webserver within their control (or at their new supplier if they're not technically competent enough to serve a redirect).

Sorry, I was remembering wrong and thinking it was a subdomain of a supplier site (like Trainline whitelabel is *.trainsfares.co.uk) - so as it was under XC's domain they could indeed do that. Just the usual incompetence then...

 

[Adam Williams]

It wasn't a subdomain of crosscountrytrains.co.uk

The 410ing page being discussed was on a subdomain of crosscountrytrains.co.uk

 

[OscarH]

It wasn't a subdomain of crosscountrytrains.co.uk, it was a subdomain of the supplier, so the supplier would have to do that. I forget what it was, but a bit like the Trainline ones are *.trainsfares.co.uk.

It was linked upthread as https://www.buytickets.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/

This was a Trainline one iirc, but I think they only use that stupid domain for help pages or similar, not the main booking widget

 

[Bletchleyite]

It was linked upthread as https://www.buytickets.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/

This was a Trainline one iirc, but I think they only use that stupid domain for help pages or similar, not the main booking widget

Yes, I have corrected my reply accordingly.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Oct 2025 ==

The 410ing page being discussed was on a subdomain of crosscountrytrains.co.uk

Yes, I have now corrected the post to which this was a reply, I checked it again and realised it was a subdomain of their domain.

 

[sabanda]

Very disappointed - I've effectively relied on XC ever since I transitioned away from using paper tickets, just because of the ease of access of their website both in terms of user-friendliness and accessibility (the colour scheme made it a lot easier to read than a good few alternatives). Think I shall have to look elsewhere as this update made the process of buying my tickets for this morning take almost twice as long as I had been used to!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Very disappointed - I've effectively relied on XC ever since I transitioned away from using paper tickets, just because of the ease of access of their website both in terms of user-friendliness and accessibility (the colour scheme made it a lot easier to read than a good few alternatives). Think I shall have to look elsewhere as this update made the process of buying my tickets for this morning take almost twice as long as I had been used to!

If it was Trainline (I can't remember) and you like that UI, then pick any other TOC that uses a Trainline whitelabel e.g. LNR/WMR (West Midlands Trains, pick based on whether you prefer green and white or orange and purple ) or Northern.

I don't think any others offer the fee-free Advance changes on a Trainline whitelabel though, unless others do?

 

[sabanda]

If it was Trainline (I can't remember) and you like that UI, then pick any other TOC that uses a Trainline whitelabel e.g. LNR/WMR (West Midlands Trains, pick based on whether you prefer green and white or orange and purple ) or Northern.

I don't think any others offer the fee-free Advance changes on a Trainline whitelabel though, unless others do?

Many thanks. I'd never warmed to using Trainline itself but hadn't considered looking at other TOCs which use their system!

 

[styles]

Many thanks. I'd never warmed to using Trainline itself but hadn't considered looking at other TOCs which use their system!

ScotRail uses the Trainline white label and also had the split ticketing feature enabled, unlike their other users.

That's if you're set on a using a site with the Trainline booking engine UI anyway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

ScotRail uses the Trainline white label and also had the split ticketing feature enabled, unlike their other users.

Last time I checked ScotRail's version didn't do e-tickets properly, it treated them as a form of m-ticket - but that might have been fixed now?

 

[blimmo]

Can anyone confirm if fee free changes to advance tickets still apply in the new app? One help page seemed to suggest fee free changes were only possible up to 6pm the day before.

 

[styles]

Last time I checked ScotRail's version didn't do e-tickets properly, it treated them as a form of m-ticket - but that might have been fixed now?

Someone more knowledgeable may reply but I believe it's more that ScotRail have set their ticket dispensing preferences differently in the national database, but that strictly speaking it is advisory?

At some point they're presumably going to ditch m-tickets along with the rest of the operators where possible?

 

[OscarH]

Someone more knowledgeable may reply but I believe it's more that ScotRail have set their ticket dispensing preferences differently in the national database, but that strictly speaking it is advisory?

They've done this as well, but Trainline don't use that database, and it has been reported before that the ScotRail site may have globally disabled eTickets

At some point they're presumably going to ditch m-tickets along with the rest of the operators where possible?

Maybe one day, they're rather stuck in the past and resisting change currently

 

[Wallsendmag]

ScotRail are moving to eTickets eventually

 

[td97]

The new app and website are awful. The booking history page does not even load, so I cannot test whether changing tickets is possible.

Aside, other complaints are

• The booking process involves a significant increase in number of clicks/taps to go through the process
• The app follows no design language to fit in with Android
• The date/time picker is an clunky bespoke implementation
• Railcards are sorted randomly
• Annoyingly it invoked my bank authentication process for a £2 ticket, whereas the old site never did.
• No calendar .ics on booking confirmation email

The only advantage so far is Google Wallet tickets are provided, but even so I prefer not to clog up my app with 10s of advance tickets I block book for commuting.

TLDR- need to find another app which offers fee free changes for advance tickets

 

[dmncf]

TfW offers fee-free changes for Advance tickets, but only up to 18:00 on the day before travel. So quite a downgrade from CrossCountry where you could change your ticket if your plans changed on the day of travel, or even if you found yourself running late to catch the train.

 

[td97]

The new app and website are awful. The booking history page does not even load, so I cannot test whether changing tickets is possible.

So the booking history now works, and does in fact show all purchases from the Trainline variant, but does not provide tickets or any method of booking management i.e. it is just a list.
My booking from the new site does show, with the ability to add to calendar and change advances with no fee.

 

[akm]

So the booking history now works, and does in fact show all purchases from the Trainline variant, but does not provide tickets or any method of booking management i.e. it is just a list.
My booking from the new site does show, with the ability to add to calendar and change advances with no fee.

Maybe the thread title could be changed

 

[Adam Williams]

Maybe the thread title could be changed

Yes, it should be - it's entirely misleading currently.

 

[gpmartin]

I've had a few challenges with the change to the new booking system! There were a few advance tickets that I needed to change, and I was advised to contact the customer services team - presumably employed by TheTrainline. I must be about a dozen e-mails into my conversation with them now, for a simple change of three tickets. At first they wanted to charge me £10 a ticket for each change. I reminded them of their terms and conditions. They advised me to book new tickets and then contact them for refund of the old ones. I did so, and included both the original and replacement tickets in the e-mail. They then asked me for a transaction ID. I referred them to the tickets I had sent them, but they seemed to want something else that wasn't on the tickets. I think the issue is that the transaction IDs for the new website have a different format from the old, and so they are looking for something in a different format. I've replied to explain this, but I expect it'll take a while to get it sorted.

Meanwhile, on the new site, I booked a new advance ticket and then tried to change it to a ticket on another date at the same price. Unfortunately this didn't go smoothly either - when trying it on the website, I was logged out; on the app, I got an error message. I raised it via Twitter (https://x.com/Graham_P_Martin/status/1979460442272805326) - judging by their Twitter feed, there are a lot of people who are unhappy both with the transition and wiht the new booking system...

 

[dmncf]

I've had a few challenges with the change to the new booking system! There were a few advance tickets that I needed to change, and I was advised to contact the customer services team - presumably employed by TheTrainline. I must be about a dozen e-mails into my conversation with them now, for a simple change of three tickets. At first they wanted to charge me £10 a ticket for each change. I reminded them of their terms and conditions. They advised me to book new tickets and then contact them for refund of the old ones. I did so, and included both the original and replacement tickets in the e-mail. They then asked me for a transaction ID. I referred them to the tickets I had sent them, but they seemed to want something else that wasn't on the tickets. I think the issue is that the transaction IDs for the new website have a different format from the old, and so they are looking for something in a different format. I've replied to explain this, but I expect it'll take a while to get it sorted.

Meanwhile, on the new site, I booked a new advance ticket and then tried to change it to a ticket on another date at the same price. Unfortunately this didn't go smoothly either - when trying it on the website, I was logged out; on the app, I got an error message. I raised it via Twitter (https://x.com/Graham_P_Martin/status/1979460442272805326) - judging by their Twitter feed, there are a lot of people who are unhappy both with the transition and wiht the new booking system...

Not sure if this is happening in your case @gpmartin, but I had an email dialogue in which CrossCountry's customer services team repeatedly asked for the transaction ID, and I scrolled down and saw that their computer system was redacting the transaction ID and any long numbers, replacing the numbers with Xs. Putting spaces between the number digits, or spelling out the numbers in words solved this.

 

[gpmartin]

Thank @dmncf. The transaction ID is showing up fine - I think it's just that it's in a new format on the new website, and the staff don't seem to be able to cope with this - they want a 10-12 digit number, and the new format is 13 digits alphanumerical. I've tried to explain this but they are just not getting it. In the latest e-mail, they've offered advice on clearing the cache, removing cookies etc. It looks like no-one's informed them that the system has changed...

 

[revkev7]

The company could provide an alternative site for those of us with numerous existing bookings that need to be amended. I have nearly missed two trains already trying to locate existing bookings attached to emails that would have just been retrieved from the (old) app. Very disappointing that I have to call a very noisy call centre to discuss any changes when I have a hearing disability and railcard. My email to customer services suggests a 20 day turnaround for a response!!

 

[dmncf]

I wonder why CrossCountry didn't migrate existing bookings from its old system to its new system?

 

[CyrusWuff]

I wonder why CrossCountry didn't migrate existing bookings from its old system to its new system?

Because they can't do so easily, is likely to be the simple answer.

Chiltern had the same issue when they switched from Trainline to Worldline WebTIS and again when they switched to the Arriva booking engine.

 

[Adam Williams]

It is definitely not straightforward, particularly if you want to support refunding bookings made from a previous fulfilment provider.. It can be done with enough effort, but it's whether it's worth it.

 

[gpmartin]

It gets worse. They're now going back to saying that an admin fee applies, because I'm not in the "cancellation period". I've asked what this means, and pointed out that the website simply says that the tickets need to be amended before travel.

 

[Mainline421]

Looks like they've removed/broken the Totum discount , there goes about the only reason to use them (and the only reason to use Totum) https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/tickets-savings/offers-discounts/student-train-travel

 

[jef42]

The amendment flow is completely broken on the new XC website for me. I can't amend my outward advance for tomorrow as they seem to be applying the 6pm deadline mentioned above (though their website still says up to 15 minutes before departure). I can't amend my return ticket for Sunday as it just logs me out after I try to make "payment" for my £0 amendment. Both of these tickets were bought on the new website last week.

I have bought two new advances for next weekend and requested a refund for the originals from XC customer services. I hope CS have not been outsourced to Trainline too as they were dire when I needed an abandoned journey refund on a ticket purchased through Northern - they could not even grasp the concept.

 

[gpmartin]

The amendment flow is completely broken on the new XC website for me. I can't amend my outward advance for tomorrow as they seem to be applying the 6pm deadline mentioned above (though their website still says up to 15 minutes before departure). I can't amend my return ticket for Sunday as it just logs me out after I try to make "payment" for my £0 amendment. Both of these tickets were bought on the new website last week.

I have bought two new advances for next weekend and requested a refund for the originals from XC customer services. I hope CS have not been outsourced to Trainline too as they were dire when I needed an abandoned journey refund on a ticket purchased through Northern - they could not even grasp the concept.

I've had this issue too. The good news is that the customer services line for the new system is *much* better than the old. When I was unable to amend a ticket at the same price, they sorted me out very quickly indeed. This was well before the date of travel, though.

Nevertheless, I've moved my custom to TfW now, whose app actually seems to work as intended for advance tickets amendments.