A Greater Anglia train has derailed near Wickford in Essex, with British Transport Police (BTP) officers at the scene. No injuries have been reported. The incident comes less than 24 hours after a separate train derailment in Lewes left two people seriously injured.
Emergency services have been spotted near the Wickford scene, with a local sharing an image of two air ambulances landing close to the tracks. A footbridge across the rail line has been closed as crews work at the scene.
Bus strike over heat conditions
Meanwhile, dozens of London bus routes have ground to a halt due to a major strike. Unite says more than 1,500 Arriva North drivers are taking industrial action today and tomorrow, in a dispute over conditions amid a succession of summer heatwaves. A total of 43 routes are affected.
Conditions for drivers this summer are “some of the worst they’ve ever been” despite union warnings 18 months ago, according to Unite the Union regional officer Steve Stockwell. Outlining what changes were being demanded, he said: “There are two parties that need to make a change. TfL send the spec sheets out that the operators have to use, so TFL needs to change the specs. But the operators are the employers. So they need to do something to keep our drivers cool, we need a structure to get air conditioning on all our buses.”
Drivers describe 'absolutely boiling' cabs
Peter Crane, 62, who has driven for Arriva for 22 years, showed a photo of his cab temperature reading at 44C on Friday. He said: “We’re so fed up, we get into the bus, and it’s absolutely boiling. It makes you drowsy. It makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. You’re sweating, you’re sticky. It’s like, you get off a plane, you go to Greece or Spain or something. It’s like being in a greenhouse. That’s my life. You can’t walk out. It’s not like an air-conditioned office. Not like our bosses, our directors, who are driving by with what we need, air-con in a car, it’s cool. We just want the same thing. Why can’t we have air-con? Why can’t we be comfortable and safe?”
Asked what his message to Arriva would be, Mr Crane said: “Do you really care about the comfort of your staff? Because there’s no evidence of it. It’s all talk.”
Bus driver Peter Skinner, 56, said it was “exhausting” working in extreme heat. “I know a young lady personally that works in another garage who passed out as she stepped out a cab, she was pregnant at the time,” he said. “The problem with TfL is we don’t work for TfL. So TFL would be making a lot of comments and statements that, to us, are irrelevant. We get Sadiq Khan saying ‘you don’t have to drive a bus if it’s not got working air conditioning’, we do, because our governor says we do, we don’t work for Sadiq Khan.”
Mr Skinner added: “It’s absolutely pressing, isn’t it? How long is it going to be before a driver does pass out on the wheel? Think of the carnage of a 14-tonne bus with 80 people in it, that could make a big mess.”
Travel advice and political reaction
Travel advice for those affected by the strikes includes using alternatives like the London Underground, London Overground, National Rail, or walking where possible. Passengers are advised to check before leaving using the official TfL Strike Travel Tools to view live bus maps and alternate route planning. The £1.75 Weekend Hopper fare remains active for all functional, unaffected bus lines across London.
Writing on X, MP Dawn Butler said: “More than 1,500 London bus drivers are taking strike action over unsafe conditions. Working in temperatures of 40°C is not safe. I’m writing to @SadiqKhan and @unitetheunion. We must find a way forward. Our bus drivers keep London moving. They deserve safe working conditions.”
In a separate development, lines have reopened this afternoon between St Pancras and Bedford, after damage was caused to the overhead electrical wires, forcing the line to close. All lines have now reopened, National Rail said, but trains running between these stations may still be cancelled, severely delayed or revised, as services get back to normal. Major disruption is expected until 4pm.
