Britain’s rail network came to a complete stop today as temperatures rose beyond 40 degrees, forcing all trains out of Kings Cross, Euston, and Birmingham New Street to be cancelled (104F).
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said today that the UK’s infrastructure “can’t cope” with the extreme weather and that it will take “decades” for the country to adjust to the rising temperatures brought on by climate change.
The East Coast main line has been shut down from Kings Cross, and Avanti has cancelled all of the day’s remaining trains.
Hundreds of trains have been cancelled, while other routes are under a red “do not travel warning” from Network Rail for services departing from London.
According to the authorities, today’s passenger volume was almost 40% lower than it was on the same day last week.
While overhead electric wires are down in Rugby, Birmingham, and Carlisle, trapping a number of trains, there is a lineside fire in Harrow, north-west London.
Passenger emergency evacuations are still happening.
In addition to the cancellations, the escalators at Euston and Oxford Circus in London broke down in the sweltering heat.
Today, three-quarters of British rail companies are running slower trains after the tracks reached 62C (144F).
According to Network Rail, the hottest railway track yesterday reached 62C (144F) at a location in Suffolk.
The escalators and lifts at Euston Station aren’t working “due to overheating,” while smoke was coming out of an escalator machine room at Oxford Circus after the escalator pads started “overheating,” necessitating a call to the London Fire Brigade.
Service between Waterloo and Willesden Green has been suspended, and the rest of the Jubilee Line is experiencing significant delays, due to a fire at Finchley Road in Central London.
According to police, a portion of the A14 dual carriageway in Cambridgeshire warped due to yesterday’s heat wave and now looks like a “skatepark,” while an area of the A114 in Leytonstone, east London, had to be partially blocked because a verge caught fire.
The RAC has advised drivers that there may be a fifth more vehicle failures today than usual.
TomTom data revealed that traffic in some places was less congested than it was the week before as a result of people staying home in the heat.
Congestion levels in Birmingham dropped from 48% on July 12 to 32%, while they did the same in Manchester, going from 59% to 44%.
Yesterday’s heat had an impact on the runways at RAF Brize Norton and Luton Airport, causing aircraft to reroute.
Before an inspection tomorrow, Brize Norton will reportedly remain closed today.
Mr. Shapps acknowledged today that the UK’s transportation system cannot withstand the intense heat.
We’ve witnessed a sizable amount of travel interruption, he told BBC Breakfast.
The infrastructure, much of it constructed in the Victorian era, was simply not built to withstand this type of temperature, and it will be many years before we can replace infrastructure with the kind that could, because the temperatures are so extreme.
Today is likely to be the hottest day ever recorded in the UK.
When asked if the transportation infrastructure could handle the weather, he responded, “The obvious answer right now is no.”
There is a significant risk of tracks buckling where the tracks are 40 degrees in the air but 50, 60, 70, or even more degrees on the ground. Trains running over those and a catastrophic derailing are unacceptable.
We must be extremely careful and aware of that, which is why there are slower speeds on a significant portion of the network.
Council gritters have been prepared to lightly dust melted roads with sand.
Extreme heatwaves will cause problems on the roads and railroads for decades, according to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
When asked how long it would take to replace all of the current rail infrastructure and make it more resilient, he responded to Sky News, “Decades, frankly.” Same goes with tarmac on the roadways.
“These are the repercussions of global warming,” said the speaker, “and there is a long process of replacing it and upgrading it to handle temperatures, either very hot or sometimes much colder than we have been used to.”
He stated that today’s Cobra meeting was cancelled in favour of the Prime Minister preside over Cabinet.
All trains were cancelled today, making Kings Cross resemble a ghost town during rush hour as record-high temperatures wrecked havoc on the rail system.
As the temperatures reached 40 degrees, all trains between London and York were cancelled due to rail officials’ concerns that the lines could not withstand the heat.
The imaginary “Platform 9 3/4” from the Harry Potter movies was the sole crowded location.
New Yorkers Stacey and Steven Koppell and their nine-month-old daughter Hannah were first in line.
The couple expressed shock that Britain could have a complete shutdown in the midst of temperatures that they characterised as “quite normal to us.”
They had a terrible train ride yesterday, forcing them to pay $215 for a taxi.
A Manhattan attorney named Mr. Koppell said: “We are taking the train to the Cotswolds for the day, and on the way back, they stopped at Oxford and said they couldn’t take us any farther.
We have a newborn baby daughter, our hotel is in Paddington, and we have no choice but to spend £215 on a taxi.
“I do believe it to be a bit much. Simply said, Britain is unprepared for these temperatures. But the year is 2022!
New York teacher Mrs. Koppell continued, “These summertime temperatures are completely usual to us.”
“Before moving on to France, we were anticipating a few days of rain, and I think these temperatures have caught the nation off guard.”
Simply put, we weren’t ready. We’ve heard stories of Trainline spending time in the sun on airport tarmacs in Milton. Really, nobody is to blame. But we find it all confusing.
Maria Schroeder, another American, and two companions were upset when their train to Edinburgh was cancelled.
‘We got here at 4:45 am for our train that was meant to leave an hour later only to find it cancelled,’ said Maria, a 23-year-old teacher from Ohio.
‘Me and my buddies Ellie and Kyle were only in Edinburgh for a day to explore that lovely city.
We just planned a brief holiday, therefore we must now cancel it. In addition, we lost the Airbnb that we had reserved in Scotland.
We have to find alternative lodging in Camden Town for tonight, and we can’t make reservations until 2 PM. As a result, we and our stuff are detained here.
“I am just puzzled by how England has come to a stop,” you may say. Even if it was in the 90s at home, everything continues to operate normally.
‘There are likely to be delays on the roads, with road closures, as well as possible delays and cancellations to trains, and possibly issues with air travel,’ said Rachel Ayers, a Met Office forecaster.
Those who are stranded on services or roads in the heat may be at serious danger for health problems as a result.
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