Rail services in London have begun to be impacted by the latest heatwave.
Soaring temperatures are expected to cause disruption to services - with some likely to be running at reduced speed as temperatures climb as high as 35C in the capital.
Extreme temperatures can cause rails to buckle, overhead electric wires to sag and lineside fires, while steel rails can exceed 50C when the air temperature is 30C.
London officially met the heatwave criteria on Monday evening, following a third straight day with temperatures above 28C, and the heat is only rising towards the end of the week.
The capital could see highs of around 34C on Thursday and Friday.
Some train companies are warning customers to travel “only if essential”, and to check their journeys before they travel.
Here are all London trains which have been disrupted due to the heatwave so far.
Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway (GWR) services are running direct between Reading and London Paddington in both directions between 9.30am and 9pm on Thursday.
The operator has also confirmed that certain London Paddington to Oxford services will not run due to the heat.
GWR typically operates 4 trains between Paddington and Oxford each hour, but each service departing Oxford on the hour, and departing Paddington at 23 minutes past the hour, has been cancelled on Thursday.
Passengers have been advised that tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on CrossCountry services between Banbury, Oxford and Reading from 2pm onwards.
Passengers whose trains are cancelled may use their tickets on either of the two earlier or later services. If these are peak services or less flexible, customers can still travel with their original ticket at no extra cost.
GWR have not yet confirmed the service level for Friday, but have urged passengers to only travel if essential.
East Midlands Railway
East Midlands Railway (EMR) are advising customers to only travel on Thursday or Friday if their journey is essential.
The operator has confirmed they are experiencing some heat related issues which are affecting some services, with some units having to be removed from service.
As a result, trains on various routes across the EMR network may be cancelled in full or revised.
This will affect some services on the Intercity route to and from London St Pancras International, with passengers being urged to check before they travel.
Tickets for Thursday and Friday can be used on EMR services between Saturday July 11 and Tuesday July 14 instead.
Passengers have been strongly recommended to travel before 12pm where temperatures are expected to be cooler, and those who no longer wish to travel can claim a full, fee free refund from their point of purchase.
c2c
c2c has confirmed that the below trains will no longer run on Thursday and Friday due to the heatwave:
- 05:24 Grays to London Fenchurch Street
- 05:57 Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street
- 07:21 Leigh-on-Sea to London Fenchurch Street
- 07:35 Pitsea to Fenchurch Street
- 06:08 London Fenchurch Street to Pitsea
- 07:12 London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness
- 07:32 London Fenchurch Street to Pitsea
- 07:35 Pitsea to London Fenchurch Street
- 08:05 Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street
- 08:36 Pitsea to London Fenchurch Street
- 14:57 Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street
- 15:11 Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street
- 15:51 London Fenchurch Street to Grays
- 16:07 London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness
- 16:28 London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness
- 16:37 Grays to London Fenchurch Street
- 17:10 London Fenchurch Street to Grays
- 17:21 Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street
- 17:22 London Fenchurch Street to Pitsea
- 17:44 Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street
- 18:03 Grays to London Fenchurch Street
- 18:28 Pitsea to London Fenchurch Street
- 18:30 London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness
- 18:51 London Fenchurch Street to Grays
- 19:07 London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness
London Northwestern Railway
London Northwestern Railway are experiencing some heat related issues affecting some of their train services.
Buses are replacing trains between Bletchley and Bedford from approximately 12.45pm until the end of the day today.
Passengers are advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and people should allow extra time for their journeys.
South Western Railway
South Western Railway has announced that they expect some of their services to be impacted by the hot weather today.
Despite the high temperatures, they expect to be able to operate a normal service, but are advising passengers to check their entire journey before they travel.
Great Northern and Thameslink
A number of Great Northern and Thameslink routes will be cancelled on Thursday due to a shortage of trains caused by extra safety inspections taking place
This is expected until the end of the day.
As such there will be a reduced service between Peterborough and Horsham, and between Bedford and Three Bridges / Brighton. Cambridge to Brighton services will be suspended.
It is currently unclear whether these inspections are related to the ongoing heatwave.
