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Commuters nationwide face disruption this week as trains are cancelled and speed restrictions imposed amid fear the soaring heat may be damaging rail tracks.
Network Rail has introduced speed restrictions in several parts of the UK, which will lead to trains being delayed or axed.
The move follows two train derailments within 24 hours last week, thought to be linked to the record-breaking temperatures impacting the tracks.
On Thursday, a Southern train carrying 150 passengers from Victoria to Eastbourne derailed near Lewes when three carriages tumbled off the track, leaving two passengers seriously injured and 18 others needing hospital treatment.
Next day, the 1.51pm Southend-to-London train with 60 passengers came off the tracks at Wickford. No one was injured.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is probing both dramas.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on Saturday: ‘I understand passengers may be concerned but the industry has been taking steps to manage the heat, for example by closely monitoring track temperatures and putting speed restrictions in place where needed.’
In the Anglia region, trains are running slower between King’s Lynn and Ely and Cambridge over fears the soil below the lines has dried out and shrunk, causing tracks to become uneven.
Network Rail has introduced speed restrictions in several parts of the UK, which will lead to trains being delayed or axed following a train derailment this week
Throughout last week, engineers worked late at night to fix the tracks. Greater Anglia has put out a new timetable until the weather cools.
Speed restrictions mean a train journey from Waterloo to Exeter St Davids will now take almost half an hour longer than the usual three hours.
On Saturday, Bruce Williamson of campaign group RailFuture said the two derailments will cause anxiety among commuters as they return to work on Monday. He added: ‘We mustn’t jump to conclusions that the hot weather caused this. It probably did, but we don’t know this yet.’
Meanwhile, Gurkha troops and a ‘waterbombing’ helicopter were last night helping tackle major blazes in Wales as terrified families fled homes.
About 100 troops from the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment were sent across south and west Wales as fire chiefs battled to bring massive wildfires under control.
South Wales chief fire officer Fin Monahan said troops were digging trenches to slow fires’ spread and delivering water.
He said the wildfires were spreading rapidly, destroying houses, and so fierce that some firefighters were suffering from heat stress. He added they were dealing with 12 large wildfires, some of which had been started by arsonists.
Four 14-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire was set on a mountain near Porth in South Wales. The teenagers have since been bailed under investigation.
South Wales fire service confirmed it was dealing with three ‘significant incidents’ at Cwmavon in Blaenavon; Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil; and Darran Park near Ferndale.
Elsewhere, fire crews called in from across the UK were tackling blazes at Tredegar; Pontllanfraith; Van Road, Garth; Ebbw Vale; Porth; and Penrhys. Homes were evacuated in Torfaen, Porth, Merthyr Tydfil and Llandovery.