SHOCK RAIL WARNING: Trains to stop running within HOURS as 37C heat MELTS tracks across UK
MILLIONS of commuters face rush-hour HELL tonight with the record hot weather set to spark horrendous delays and cancellations on Britain’s railways.
By NATHAN RAO
Express.co.uk
Thu, Jul 26, 2018
Network Rail is ‘closely monitoring’ ALL routes for steel tracks overheating and buckling in the extreme heat.
It said it anticipates restrictions across the network tonight – as operators warned passengers to head home early and avoid travelling at peak times to try and avoid the chaos.
People travelling in eastern and south-eastern England face the worst chaos with the mercury forecast to reach 37C (98.6F) – the highest ever recorded in July – causing steel tracks to heat up to 50C (122F).
It is already the hottest day of the year so far with a scorching 34.4C recorded at Heathrow Airport this afternoon.
And now rail bosses have warned commuters to prepare for long delays and suspension of services this evening, sparking fears huge parts of the network will be thrown into chaos during the busiest time of the day.
As our rail heatmap shows, Anglian services are most likely to be affected but services going in and out of London, Nottingham, Leicester, Brighton, Southampton could all be hit.
Network Rail advised passengers to check before travelling and carry bottled water to prevent dehydration.
A spokeswoman said: “We are monitoring the tracks constantly. We advise passengers to check on our website before travel.
“We expect it to be hottest in the east, so we are anticipating speed restrictions here, probably for the Anglian routes but they could go in elsewhere if the heat continues to rise.
“We will be keeping a close eye on the weather.”
Network Rail, which manages 20,000 miles of track across England, Scotland and Wales, said its ‘extreme weather action teams’ will be on hand to try and avert a crisis.
The firm has installed mini weather stations and will be working with forecasters to identify anticipated trouble hotspots.
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