Rail commuters suffer as temperature soars
COMMUTERS on packed trains are being fined for standing in first class despite temperatures soaring to the highest of the year so far yesterday.
A number of train companies will not allow passengers into first class carriages when trains are overcrowded, despite abnormally high weather during the June heatwave.
They include Greater Anglia, Southern, Southeastern, and Thameslink.
Great Northern also said that first class is “still in place across our network”, but added they are “declassifying” some first class areas “on an ad hoc basis”.
Train companies will often “declassify” carriages when a previous train has been cancelled or severely delayed.
The policy forced hundreds of commuters on those services yesterday to stand in packed carriages during dangerously hot weather conditions, or else face a penalty fare by moving into first class.
Some train companies do not even allow heavily pregnant women to stand in first class, it emerged, with Greater Anglia turning one pregnant woman away – despite no seats being available in standard class.
Alexandra Vincenti, who said she was “six months pregnant with bad back pain”, asked Greater Anglia on Twitter: “[I] assume [it’s] OK to sit in first class as [there’s] no guard to ask?”
Greater Anglia replied: “You are only allowed to sit in first class with a first class ticket.”
They referred her to their “Mum to Be” programme, which allows heavily pregnant women to upgrade to first class for free – but only if they have a pre-paid season ticket.
It came as Britain saw its highest temperatures of the year so far yesterday, reaching 87F (30.6C) at the hottest point in Porthmadog, Wales.
Last night, wildfires sparked by the heatwave on Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines led to residents being evacuated from their homes in nearby Carrbrook as smoke began to engulf the town.
England’s hottest place was recorded in Rostherne, Cheshire, where temperatures reached 86F (30.3C) yesterday afternoon.
The Met Office kept a yellow weather warning in place, and police warned swimmers not to be tempted by the hot weather to swim in lakes and reservoirs, after a 31-year-old man died in Surrey. Rescuers recovered his body late yesterday evening. He had been seen struggling in Mercer’s Lake, Nutfield.
In Staffordshire, police named a missing 13-year-old boy who was last seen getting into difficulty at Westport Lake, Stoke-on-trent. Ryan Evans, from Stoke-on-trent, had gone into the lake with two other boys, aged 12 and 13, who both escaped unharmed.
A specialist dive team searched underwater yesterday as emergency services cordoned off the man-made lake. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution also urged swimmers to beware of swimming in cold water, saying they attended 15,000 such incidents last year.
A police officer was forced to smash the window of a vehicle in the car park of York Hospital to pull two black labradors to safety yesterday afternoon.
An investigation has been launched by the RSPCA, which is looking after the animals.
Meanwhile, however, those hoping to enjoy an alcoholic beverage in the sunshine may find they are limited in the amount they can buy due to the country’s CO2 shortage.
Food wholesaler Booker, which is owned by Tesco, was capping customers to 10 cases of beer, and five of cider or soft drinks, due to supply issues.