Rail meltdown Day 3... Sleeper goes nowhere so travellers wake up in same city!
‘Thrown off at 5.30am’
RAIL passengers on board Sleeper services in Scotland and London ended up spending the night on stationary trains after extreme temperatures caused travel chaos.
The heatwave, which saw records smashed across the UK, brought delays and cancellations to the rail network across the country. It was the third day of chaos on the network as engineers scrambled to repair damage done by the heat.
Services in and out of London connecting with Scotland and the north of England were mostly cancelled in the morning, with reduced timetables getting underway in the afternoon.
Passengers on Caledonian Sleeper services spent the night on board trains that were held at London, Edinburgh and Glasgow after travel was suspended on Tuesday, as temperatures hit 40C (104F) south of the Border.
The operator normally connects Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William with London Euston.
But disruption followed damage to overhead electric lines in four different locations and rail tracks buckling in Tuesday’s extreme heat.
London-bound rail passengers boarded the service in Glasgow after being informed that it would be setting off.
The service announced just after 7pm: ‘We have received news from Network Rail that the earlier weather-related incidents will be managed to allow our Sleeper services to operate this evening as planned.
‘For guests with reservations on tonight’s Caledonian Sleeper services, please proceed to your departure station.’
But just after midnight, after travellers had already boarded their train, they tweeted: ‘We are very sorry to inform our guests that despite all efforts being made to allow services to run this evening, unfortunately Network Rail have informed us of developing issues on the rail network and as a result we will not be able to run our services.’
One guest on board tweeted a picture of his view of Glasgow Central yesterday morning, revealing they hadn’t moved an inch since he fell asleep.
Jim Metcalfe said: ‘In 15 years of using this train, and through many bizarre twists and turns, this has to be strangest yet.
‘Wake up, and the train never left Glasgow. It was just sat here all night, and now we have been thrown off it at 5.30am in the wrong city.’
Rail bosses issued a statement yesterday which read: ‘Please accept our sincere apologies for the disruption to last night’s Sleeper services.’
It came as ScotRail issued a warning of looming delays and cancellations over the coming days due to the heat that blasted the country earlier this week.
There will be almost 700 additional services running each day as the train operator reinstates its full timetable since running a reduced service in May. A temporary timetable had been in place since May 23 after train drivers refused to work overtime or on rest days during the dispute.
Members of the Aslef union have accepted an improved pay offer which includes a 5 per cent wage increase, more money for rest day and Sunday working, and a policy of no compulsory redundancies for the next five years. But the rail operator has warned passengers could still face disruption as a result of the record-breaking heat.
ScotRail said that there was potential for ‘knock-on’ disruption to some services as a result of the heatwave, with potential damage to infrastructure and the possibility of trains being out of position.
Yesterday, Network Rail confirmed there would be no trains between London Euston and Scotland as teams repaired damage caused to overhead lines south of the Border. Network Rail tweeted: ‘Colleagues in England have been working through the night to repair damage caused by the extreme heat yesterday. This has been a very challenging 24 hours. There is still a lot of work to do, but teams are working hard to make those repairs.’
Avanti West Coast, which operates trains on the West Coast mainline between Glasgow Central and London Euston, said tickets that had been purchased for journeys on Tuesday and Wednesday will still be valid for travel until Friday. However, the operator urged members of the public to check journeys and find alternative routes.
Meanwhile, Lumo confirmed they would only run services between Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle yesterday. Original tickets will be accepted onboard Lumo services for up to a week after the planned day of travel.
David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: ‘We know how much people right across the country rely on rail travel. I’d like to thank our customers for their patience through what has been a very challenging few months.
‘I’d encourage customers to check their journey before they travel as our timetable returns to May 2022 levels, particularly given the disruption to services over recent days due to the extreme heat.’
‘Check journey before travel’