Travel expert Simon Calder has issued a serious warning to anyone travelling by train in the UK this week, as temperatures are forecast to reach highs of 36C. The fifth heatwave of the year has triggered yellow health alerts across the country.
Railway network not built for extreme heat
Speaking on GB News, Calder explained that the British railway network was never designed for temperatures above about 35C. He detailed several issues that could arise, including the possibility of steel rails buckling, overhead wires sagging, and an increased risk of line-side fires.
Calder said: "The British railway network was never designed for temperatures above about 35 celcius. Once the temperature rises above that, several things happen which are not great. There's more possibility that the steel rails could buckle. That is intensified if you have a large number of trains passing at high speed over them, so they put in speed restrictions. There's also a problem with overhead wires sagging in the heat. These are the electric lines that help our trains run speedidly. That's a problem too."
Heathrow fire highlights disruption risk
He added that line-side fires are more likely to break out, citing an incident last week at Heathrow Airport where a runway-side fire closed the southern runway for an hour, causing diversions, heavy delays, and dozens of cancellations.
Calder noted: "If you've got completely overstretched railway networks, overstretched airports, then any disruption in the form of unusually high temperatures is not going to work out well for the long-suffering traveller."
Record heat and health impacts
Two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June were linked to more than 2,800 excess deaths, while two further heatwaves in July have contributed to drought conditions and wildfires. There have already been 33 days this year when temperatures have exceeded 30C somewhere in the UK, putting the country on course to break the record of 34 days set in 1995.
