Rail passengers urged to travel only if essential during red heat warning
9 reported
Rail passengers have been advised to travel only if “absolutely essential” as extreme heat is expected to disrupt services across Britain, according to a single-source report from The Guardian. Temperatures are forecast to rise to 37C across most of southern England and Wales over the next three days, potentially reaching 40C in the most affected areas. Intercity trains from London to Birmingham, Manchester and beyond are expected to be among the worst affected. Chiltern Railways has already cancelled more than half of its normal timetable in anticipation of widespread disruption. Network Rail said speed restrictions would be imposed, as they were in 2022 when record temperatures were recorded, eventually closing two lines. A red extreme heat warning has been issued by the Met Office for Wednesday and Thursday. The disruption comes as services on the Midland mainline remain affected after a fatal collision on Friday between two EMR trains at Bedford, which killed a train driver and injured about 100 passengers.
What’s reported
Passengers told to travel only if “absolutely essential” and check trains are running.
Temperatures forecast to rise to 37C across most of southern England and Wales over the next three days, potentially 40C in most affected areas.
Chiltern Railways has cancelled more than half of its normal timetable.
Network Rail said speed restrictions would be imposed, as in 2022 when record temperatures closed two lines.
A red extreme heat warning has been issued by the Met Office for Wednesday and Thursday.
Extreme heat can cause steel rails to expand and buckle, overhead wires to sag or break, and signalling systems to overheat.
Services on the Midland mainline remain affected after a fatal collision on Friday between two EMR trains at Bedford, killing a train driver and injuring about 100 passengers.
LNER strongly recommends passengers do not travel on Wednesday or Thursday.
Both Chiltern and LNER said tickets booked for those days can be used on Friday instead.
Key figures
Jake Kelly, deputy chief executive of Network Rail
Michael Stewart, commercial director at Chiltern Railways
Sources: The Guardian
