Railway passengers warned to only travel by train 'if essential' during heatwave

Railway passengers warned to only travel by train 'if essential' during heatwave East Midlands Railway have told passengers to avoid trains unless it is essential ahead of next week's heatwave Some trains have been cancelled and others will run at reduced speeds this week as the UK's third heatwave in as many months could see temperatures soar past 35C. Customers have been warned to travel by train “only if essential” as temperatures are expected to climb to the mid-30s in some areas, the Met Office announced on Tuesday.. East Midlands Railway (EMR) said customers should try to travel before 12pm this week to avoid the highest temperatures, expect disruption on the network and check for timetable changes before travelling. The company said regional services between Nottingham and Worksop, and Nottingham and Leicester, will be suspended from 12pm on Wednesday, to reduce the impact of the extreme temperatures on the railway. EMR added some other services are set to operate at reduced speeds for safety reasons. High 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. 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. “If you do need to travel and the journey is essential, we’d recommend travelling before midday and checking your journey before setting off. “We appreciate these changes may inconvenience some customers and we’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we work to keep people moving safely.” EMR said its plans for Thursday and Friday are still under review, and customers wishing to travel on these days should check for updates before they travel.