TRAIN chaos is continuing this evening as commuters are left stranded on railways across the nation, with warnings issued for Brits not to travel.
The record heatwave has caused mayhem on the railways, leaving passengers in London and Birmingham abandoned and stations packed.
Passengers at Euston station in London have been hit with travel chaos in the aftermath of the heatwave[/caption]
There are currently no trains running through Birmingham New Street station after yesterday’s record heatwave damaged overhead lines[/caption]
Passengers at King’s Cross station in London have been facing major disruptions[/caption]
Brits trying to travel by rail have faced chaos after temperatures hit 40C on Tuesday, a new UK record, causing damage to overhead wires and signalling systems while tracks have caught ablaze.
Tonight’s issues come after railway firms have been forced to ask commuters not to travel unless absolutely necessary while vital repairs are carried out.
More than two dozen services departing from London King’s Cross and Euston have been cancelled or delayed.
The East Coast Main Line, the main rail artery connecting the nation between London and Edinburgh, was damaged on Tuesday after a fire spread on to the track in Bedfordshire.
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Overhead cables at Birmingham New Street were also severely damaged, leading to the cancellation of all trains through the station.
The aftermath of the summer scorcher continues to cause havoc, and has led to the deaths of 13 people.
Commuters have been telling of “bedlam” as trains continue to be cancelled up and down Britain.
Lee Ball was trying to travel with his wife, Libby, and 10-year-old daughter, Amelie, from their home in Worcestershire, to London Euston on their way to an Ed Sheeran concert.
The 46-year-old said their train from Droitwich to Birmingham New Street was cancelled with less than 30 minutes’ notice.
The family then drove to Birmingham International, where they have been left waiting for hours.
He said: “I’ve been up since 4.30am, anxious, trying to get an answer from anywhere we can.
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I was monitoring trains this morning from Birmingham New Street to London Euston and one was literally cancelled with five minutes’ notice.”
He added that communication from the train companies has been “appalling”.
“It’s massive, massive anxiety,” he said. “Not being able to sleep, 4am this morning, fretting, seeing if there had been any updates.”
Nicole Dixon, 26, has missed her uncle’s funeral in Carlisle after any available trains from Euston were cancelled.
“I’m incredibly annoyed, frustrated and a bit exhausted,” the private PA said.
“I was told that there was an unlikely chance of getting a train out yesterday but that today they would 100% be running. I explained to staff that I needed to be home for a funeral in the morning.
“I’ve felt really annoyed this morning as I was assured I’d be able to make it to the funeral.”
Ms Dixon added that she hopes to make the wake, but will have missed the service.
Laura Horn, a lecturer at Roskilde University in Denmark, was travelling from Copenhagen to a conference in Limerick in western Ireland but was left stuck at London Euston.
She said: “Station hall packed with people staring at the display, so many cancelled connections.
“Lots of worried and tired faces – I thought it was striking that so many seemed worried rather than annoyed.”
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Alex Davies, a charity worker from Crewe, said he was “physically and mentally exhausted” from trying to organise his journey home from Portsmouth via London Euston.
The 28-year-old said: “I’m autistic and need a lot of help from my wife, but she couldn’t get the time off work to travel with me so the whole saga has been extremely difficult for me.”
Mr Davies was meant to travel on Tuesday evening but held off in the hope that the disruption would have subsided by Wednesday.
He added: “Through extra taxis, meals and hotels I’m at around £250 loss and still don’t have a guarantee that I’ll be home today.
“Still very anxious and tired as, until I can get to Euston, there is not really any support.”
National Rail has told customers to check before setting off on their journeys and to only travel if absolutely necessary.
It said on its website: “Network Rail teams are continuing to work tirelessly to make the repairs so we can get services back up and running for passengers but there is still disruption to services throughout the day.”
Overhead electric wires are also reportedly down in Rugby, Birmingham and Carlisle, leading to several emergency evacuations of passengers.
Commuters up and down the country continue to tell of ‘bedlam’ on the railways[/caption]
