Rail passengers were warned on Tuesday to travel only if essential as the UK braces for a third heatwave in as many months, with temperatures expected to climb past 35C. East Midlands Railway (EMR) said some services would be cancelled and others would run at reduced speeds to keep the railway operating safely. The company urged customers to travel before 12pm to avoid the highest temperatures, and warned of disruption and timetable changes. Regional services between Nottingham and Worksop, and Nottingham and Leicester, will be suspended from 12pm on Wednesday, while other services will operate at reduced speeds. High temperatures can cause rails to buckle, overhead electric wires to sag and lineside fires, with steel rails exceeding 50C when the air temperature reaches 30C. Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director at EMR, said: “The hot weather means we’ll need to make some temporary changes to our services to keep the railway operating safely.” EMR’s plans for Thursday and Friday remain under review.
As the heatwave threatens to disrupt travel, a separate strike is set to hit services on the West Coast Main Line. Members of the TSSA union at West Midlands Trains, the parent company of London Northwestern Railway (LNR), will walk out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday over a row on rest day working payments. The strike will result in fewer trains on LNR routes between London Euston, Birmingham and Crewe, with some sections having no service. On Friday and Saturday, only one train per hour will run on most routes. On Friday, no trains will run after 7pm, with the final London Euston to Crewe departure at 3:46pm. On Saturday, trains will start later than usual and services are likely to be busy. The Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley, and the Stafford-Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent route, will have no service on Friday and Saturday. Knock-on disruption is expected on Sunday morning because of displaced trains, LNR said. TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “These strikes will go ahead as planned because our members have not been given parity with those in other unions – a perfectly reasonable demand.” LNR customer experience director Jonny Wiseman said: “We are disappointed TSSA has called further unnecessary strike action which is set to cause significant disruption for our customers.” Avanti West Coast services are unaffected.
“Rail passengers face travel chaos from heatwave warnings and a strike on London Northwestern Railway routes.”