• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Train Tracks Burst Into Flames In London As Soaring Temperatures Hit 30C

Home> News

Updated 14:57 11 Jul 2022 GMT+1Published 13:54 11 Jul 2022 GMT+1

Train Tracks Burst Into Flames In London As Soaring Temperatures Hit 30C

Trains were suspended as a result of the incident

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Train tracks caught fire on a bridge in London earlier today, resulting in services between Victoria and Brixton being suspended.

A spark is said to have ignited the tinder beams on the tracks in Battersea, south London today (11 July) as the capital city experiences soaring temperatures.

Steve White, managing director of Southeastern Railway, shared an image of the blaze online and expressed his thanks to the rail company and the London Fire Brigade, writing: "Thanks... for responding promptly to a lineside fire this morning and allowing services to safely resume to Victoria."

In response to the image, Network Rail Southeast shared another image of the fire and stressed the heat was 'going be a serious challenge for all of us this week'.

When questioned by Twitter users about exactly how the tracks had caught ablaze, the organisation said: "Wheel timbers on the bridge caught fire - they are very dry as you would imagine and although we don't know for sure, it's possible a stray spark set them alight."

Network Rail went on to assure that an inspection had 'passed the line fit for operation', but said it would be looking into whether the tracks needed replacing in the wake of the incident.

Advert

The heat is expected to hit 31°C. in the UK, prompting Network Rail to warn passengers that trains may run more slowly as a result.

Services already impacted by the rising temperatures include West Midlands Trains routes between Stratford-upon-Avon, Leamington Spa and Kidderminster, where speeds have been reduced by 40mph to 20mph.

Network Rail is thought to be monitoring a number of locations as the temperatures stay high over the next few days, when lines could be at risk of buckling under extra pressure in the heat.

Train tracks can buckle due to heat.
Pixabay

The organisation explains: "When the air temperature reaches 30 degrees, the temperature on the rail can actually be up to 20 degrees higher... For some of our track, such high temperatures are more than our track is designed to cope with, however. The problem is that when steel rails get hot, they expand, which can cause a buckled rail."

Advert

In a post on Twitter, Network Rail said hot weather can also cause the overhead wires which power electric trains to sag, in turn causing further delays.

Forecasters have suggested the current heatwave could break the record for the hottest day in 2022 so far, which currently stands at 32.7°C recorded at Heathrow in June.

Featured Image Credit: Network Rail

Topics: UK News, Weather, Travel

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
8 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • 7 hours ago

    Judge rules Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will remain behind bars as bail is denied

    The hip hop producer has been in federal detention since September 2024

    News

    breaking

  • 8 hours ago

    Met Police advice on 'sextortion' after boy, 14, dies after thinking he was flirting with woman online

    The teenager ended his life after being blackmailed over intimate images he'd sent online

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Doctors make shocking discovery after toddler hospitalised with stomach pains

    Madeline Dunne's son was rushed to the hospital for a near-fatal reason

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to killing four Idaho students to avoid death penalty

    The four University of Idaho students were killed in November 2022

    News

    breaking

  • How to make sure your phone doesn't have 'heatwave meltdown' as temperatures in UK to hit 35 degrees
  • Secret discount code to get massive saving on Shark fans as UK set to hit 34C this weekend
  • Man takes 2,200 mile flight home via Iceland as it's cheaper than train from Manchester to London
  • Severe weather warnings in place today after UK thrown into chaos by Arctic blast