12:30 p.m. ET, July 25, 2019
British train company tells customers not to travel today amid extreme heat
A British train company is urging people not to travel today after extreme heat caused problems with the tracks.
East Midlands Trains tweeted their trains were "unable to run" on at least one route after overhead lines came down. They also warned of more delays because of speed restrictions and altered train schedules, saying "we advice customers NOT TO TRAVEL today."
Not only is extreme heat inconvenient for travel, it can also be dangerous.
The temperature of the steel tracks is set to exceed 50 Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in and around London, according to Network Rail. When the tracks get this hot,
they could buckle.
Britain's railway tracks are able to cope with up to 27 Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit), the average summer rail temperature in the UK.
But air temperatures are forecast to possibly reach a record of 39 Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) in England on Thursday, meaning the steel from the tracks could expand “and rails can bend, flex and, in serious cases, buckle.”