Network Rail has introduced nationwide train cancellations and speed restrictions after record-breaking heat caused two derailments within 24 hours, leaving 20 people injured. Commuters across the country face widespread disruption this week as soaring temperatures threaten rail infrastructure.
The speed restrictions follow two separate track incidents last week thought to be linked to extreme temperatures. On Thursday, three carriages of a Southern train carrying 150 passengers from London Victoria to Eastbourne tumbled off the track near Lewes in East Sussex, leaving two passengers seriously injured and 18 others needing hospital treatment.
The following day, a 1.51pm Southend-to-London train with 60 passengers on board came off the tracks at Wickford in Essex. No injuries were reported in the Friday derailment. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch, the UK government body that investigates railway incidents, is probing both accidents.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urged calm on Saturday while outlining industry measures. She said: "I understand passengers may be concerned but the industry has been taking steps to manage the heat, for example by closely monitoring track temperatures and putting speed restrictions in place where needed."
Regional speed limits and route closures
In the Anglia region of eastern England, trains are running slower between King’s Lynn, Ely, and Cambridge over fears that soil below the tracks has dried out and shrunk, causing lines to become uneven. Engineers worked late at night throughout last week to repair the tracks, and train operator Greater Anglia has introduced a revised timetable until the weather cools.
Under the heat restrictions, a train journey from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids in Devon will take almost half an hour longer than the usual three hours. Meanwhile, Network Rail announced that no trains will run between Lewes and Eastbourne until further notice, with disruption across the rest of the East Sussex rail network likely to continue all week.
On Saturday, Bruce Williamson of the passenger campaign group RailFuture said the two derailments would cause anxiety among commuters returning to work on Monday. He added: "We mustn’t jump to conclusions that the hot weather caused this. It probably did, but we don’t know this yet."
Wildfires and military deployment in Wales
Alongside the railway chaos, military forces and a waterbombing helicopter were deployed in Wales overnight to help fight major wildfires as terrified families fled their homes. About 100 troops from the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, a unit of the British Army, were dispatched across south and west Wales to assist fire chiefs.
South Wales chief fire officer Fin Monahan said Gurkha soldiers were digging trenches to slow the spread of fires and delivering water supplies. He warned that the blazes were spreading rapidly, destroying houses, and becoming so intense that firefighters were suffering from heat stress. Monahan confirmed crews were dealing with 12 large wildfires, some of which were started by arsonists.
Police have arrested four 14-year-old boys on suspicion of arson after a fire was set on a mountain near Porth in South Wales. The teenagers have since been bailed under investigation.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it was tackling three significant incidents at Cwmavon in Blaenavon, Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, and Darran Park near Ferndale. Fire crews called in from across the UK were also fighting blazes at Tredegar, Pontllanfraith, Van Road in Garth, Ebbw Vale, Porth, and Penrhys, with evacuations ordered in Torfaen, Porth, Merthyr Tydfil, and Llandovery.
