More rail chaos as the heatwave stops trains in their tracks

SCOTLAND’S rail network ground to a halt for a second day after soaring temperatures sparked a wave of cancellations.

ScotRail was forced to scrap or delay dozens of services after rail temperatures soared as high as 124F ( 1C), as signalling faults continued.

Trains were halted between Edinburgh and Bathgate after rails at Livingston were deemed at risk of warping. There were 13 cancellations on the Glasgow to Lanark line, as services were halved to hourly during the afternoon rush.

In all, almost 100 services were affected by the heat across eight major routes.

Network Rail engineers painted the rails white on part of the Glasgow to Ayr line. The company said painting the rails can reduce temperatures by up to C. The disruption came only a day after 13 routes were affected due to a fault between Glasgow Central Station and Paisley Gilmour Street.

Network Rail said Wednesday’s problems were caused by a ‘loose air hose’ but yesterday’s delays were mainly down to high temperatures. David Dickson, Network Rail’s infrastructure director for the ScotRail Alliance, said: ‘Our engineers and specialist extreme weather teams are monitoring trackside temperatures and vulnerable locations.

‘They will, if necessary, introduce temporary speed restrictions during the hottest part of the day to keep trains running, albeit more slowly than normal.’

Frustrated commuters took to social media to vent their anger.

Sean Duffy tweeted: ‘ScotRail impose speed restrictions, thereby cancelling trains. This leads to a backlog of passengers who then have to cram into a train at 30C. Value for money.’

Mike Dee posted: ‘There’s no air conditioning on the train, trolley has no water left and we’re being held on a red signal. Four hours into my journey I’m very hot, very smelly and very, very grumpy.’

A ScotRail spokesman said: ‘We sincerely apologise to customers affected by this disruption and completely understand their frustration.’

Meanwhile, Scotland’s airports are gearing up for their busiest weekend of the year. Almost half a million people will check in this weekend after schools shut for the summer.