Heat related disruption 8 July 2026 onwards

[Royston Vasey]

Well, what a week of travel. Not intending to make this a trip report but a sense of how unpredictable it has been out there, notwithstanding the eccentric nature of my plans.

On Tuesday:

Plan: Royston-London-Weymouth-Gloucester-Birmingham

Actual: Royston-London-Basingstoke (train cancelled)-Basingstoke-Yeovil Jn-Bus 68-Yeovil Pen Mill-Gloucester-Birmingham (on time arrival but didn't get my fish and chips by the sea!)

On Wednesday:

The hottest I've ever been on a surface train on a 158 from Birmingham Intl to Birmingham New Street.

Rugeley services curtailed at Hednesford. Instead went to Lichfield.

On Thursday:

I fortunately changed my tickets this morning from:

Plan: Birmingham International-Birmingham-Worcestershire Parkway-London-Royston (three of those trains ended up cancelled and the other 60 late)

Rebooked: Birmingham International-Euston-Kings Cross-Royston.

The surreal emptiness of an almost on time 11-car Pendolino which they had turned at International, only stop Coventry, with a late running 5 car Evero ten minutes in front which was no doubt rammed! So a little bit of good fortune in a pretty bad week. The West Coast right now looks a total mess.

 

 

[Mattplans]

Southeastern trains are now lined up from London Bridge (no more trains departing) to Lewisham. Diverted train now doesn't seem to be moving and trains behind it have blocked both the fasts and slows. Wondering if it's another train fault or perhaps some sort of passenger mutiny

 

[Towers]

Last time I took a Marston Vale 150 in this weather the heat was unbearable, the aging units' cooling systems basically seem to just give up above about 30degs - I suspect the decision was taken on the grounds of staff/passenger welfare.

The only “cooling system” on a 150 is the radiator and the hopper vents in the windows!

 

[londonmidland]

EMR 810011 was experiencing issues at Leicester and left 45 mins late, bound for London. It has now made an unscheduled stop and terminated at Luton Airport Parkway. It has now gone out of passenger service.

 

[Sleepy]

East Midlands Railway 158806 and 777 have ran into issues, having come to a halt at Radford Jn.

EMR have also extended their Essential Travel Only advise until Sunday the 12th.

Some time travel also appears to have taken place

 

[Tetragon213]

WMR, complete carnage at Snow Hill today. Scorching hot weather, no water, no alternative travel arrangements. Get told we're missing a driver and that the train will terminate early at Stourbridge.

To top it all off, they hold us back for a solid 15 minutes to let another train past us first.

Absolute disasterclass in how to run a railway by West Midlands.

ETA: on the move nearly 45 minutes after scheduled departure time. The last they could have done is handed out bottled water, let alone arrange acceptance on buses or trams. Utter, utter disasterclass.

 

[david l]

Northern west side appear to have given up (again) tomorrow, notice sent at 17.32 tonight - max 30 degree Friday in NW. Will no doubt extend to Saturday (forecast max 28 degrees), then joke Sunday service (west side), so Monday?

 

[800001]

WMR, complete carnage at Snow Hill today. Scorching hot weather, no water, no alternative travel arrangements. Get told we're missing a driver and that the train will terminate early at Stourbridge.

To top it all off, they hold us back for a solid 15 minutes to let another train past us first.

Absolute disasterclass in how to run a railway by West Midlands.

ETA: on the move nearly 45 minutes after scheduled departure time. The last they could have done is handed out bottled water, let alone arrange acceptance on buses or trams. Utter, utter disasterclass.

Ref water, people should plan, they knows it's going to be warm, take a drink of something to carry.

If I get on a bus and it's delayed because of traffic or the driver is late, I don't expect the bus company to provide water. What makes the railway different?

Does Snow Hill have shops that sell cold refreshments?

What was the reason for delaying you 15 minutes to allow another train past? There must be a reason, which most definitely should have been communicated to all on board so they fully know the reason.

 

[Bald Rick]

WMR, complete carnage at Snow Hill today. Scorching hot weather, no water, no alternative travel arrangements. Get told we're missing a driver and that the train will terminate early at Stourbridge.

To top it all off, they hold us back for a solid 15 minutes to let another train past us first.

Absolute disasterclass in how to run a railway by West Midlands.

ETA: on the move nearly 45 minutes after scheduled departure time. The last they could have done is handed out bottled water, let alone arrange acceptance on buses or trams. Utter, utter disasterclass.

Gold medal for hyperbole!

 

[MrToad]

Chaos at Gatwick when we landed this afternoon. No trains to Reading for over two hours, on what should be a half hourly service. The reason given was "a higher number of trains than usual are in for maintenance". No way would the huge number of people already waiting, most with luggage, along with the next two cancelled train loads fit on the first one they eventually decided to run.

The staff - or at least those visible - were telling people to "wait on the platform for announcements". I asked one what was happening and he said he did not have a clue as they weren't being told anything. Then a guard came along and told us - me and the Gatwick station employee - his train (a Southern one) has been cancelled and he does not have a clue why either.

Ended up going some convoluted route around Croydon and will ask some specific questions about the validity of this on the other section of this forum.

 

[sh24]

Amazingly I arrived early in London....

...on a British Airways Airbus. Thankfully the HEX was working normally despite mild chaos on the Elizabeth Line and GWR, and the Hades Bakerloo line was running perfectly.

Commiserations to all those struggling elsewhere.

 

[Snow1964]

Perhaps it's a networker crisis? They seem to be breaking down/faulting everywhere. If those GWR DMUs are networkers that is.

Can add Bedwyn shuttle to list of GWR services without working DMUs, Newquay-Par, Exeter-Oakhampton, Exeter-Barnstaple, Swindon-Melksham-Westbury, various on Bristol-Warminster area

The train operating the Newbury to Bedwyn shuttles has failed and there are no spare trains available.
What are we doing about it?
Taxis are being sent from Newbury to Bedwyn and return

and another route

One of the trains that runs between Didcot Parkway and Banbury has broken down.
What are we doing about it?
Our maintenance team are working with the train crew to try and resolve the issue. Services are reduced as there are no spare trains available

Live Train Times and Journey Updates | Great Western Railway

See the Great Western Railway TrainTracker for live departure times and up-to-the-minute train journey updates.

www.gwr.com

 

[satisnek]

I popped up to Stourbridge earlier today, no ice cream van on the Town service. I think there may have been a replacement bus service but I opted to walk. I thought 'why'? It's an ice cream van - these operate in hot weather, it's when they get most of their trade...

But seriously, it's something which doesn't go fast enough for long enough to create a good cooling airflow, and with presumably nothing more than automotive-style dashboard vents, it wouldn't be very pleasant for the crew operating it.

 

[Bikeman78]

I get free travel on the train - I have been opting to pay to take the bus recently.

Do the buses have air con? I wouldn't fancy driving one without. I travelled to Newport at 0830 this morning. The seats in direct sunlight were already uncomfortably warm by then, when the outside temperature was in the low 20s. In general, I do find it bizarre that most UK buses and trams do not have air con. It's been standard kit in cars for 20 years.

 

[800001]

Do the buses have air con? I wouldn't fancy driving one without. I travelled to Newport at 0830 this morning. The seats in direct sunlight were already uncomfortably warm by then, when the outside temperature was in the low 20s. In general, I do find it bizarre that most UK buses and trams do not have air con. It's been standard kit in cars for 20 years.

Electric busses have aircon, it is a requirement due to the heat generated by the batteries.

Any other busses very rarely if at all have aircon.

All they have is a few windows that have a small opening.

Some temperatures my friends took the either week when it was 33c outside, reached 48-50 in the drivers area.

 

[Kite159]

Do the buses have air con? I wouldn't fancy driving one without. I travelled to Newport at 0830 this morning. The seats in direct sunlight were already uncomfortably warm by then, when the outside temperature was in the low 20s. In general, I do find it bizarre that most UK buses and trams do not have air con. It's been standard kit in cars for 20 years.

However depending on the train, a bus has more windows which can be opened creating more air flow.

I would rather be on a 150 or 156 in this sort of area than a 158

 

[Andy Pacer]

EMR 810011 was experiencing issues at Leicester and left 45 mins late, bound for London. It has now made an unscheduled stop and terminated at Luton Airport Parkway. It has now gone out of passenger service.

Probably a normal day (see the 810 thread) and perhaps unrelated to the heat.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Jul 2026 ==

Electric busses have aircon, it is a requirement due to the heat generated by the batteries.

Although in practice some dont.

 

[kje7812]

I see the Bluebell Railway have cancelled the last trip of the day today & both dining trains tomorrow.

Severn Valley have cancelled the Steam Footplate Experience tomorrow, the diesel FE is still running (at the moment).

 

[Andy Pacer]

Severn Valley have cancelled the Steam Footplate Experience tomorrow, the diesel FE is still running (at the moment).

Great Central Railway have suspended services over the past day or so due to the weather

 

[The exile]

Do the buses have air con? I wouldn't fancy driving one without. In general, I do find it bizarre that most UK buses and trams do not have air con. It's been standard kit in cars for 20 years.

From the perspective of the driver, I tend to agree.

As far as the passenger saloon is concerned, the number of days in the year when it is really necessary on urban buses - given the fact that most people's journeys are short and doors are being opened every minute or two - has up until recently been very low indeed, and even on those days it's probably only the afternoon peak where it is really needed. Things are changing, however.

The difference from your car is that a car's "kit" will be assuming that drivers will be thinking about the occasions they do long motorway journeys (even if they don't actually do many!)

 

[Bikeman78]

Electric busses have aircon, it is a requirement due to the heat generated by the batteries.

Indeed, the electric buses in Cardiff are fab.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Jul 2026 ==

However depending on the train, a bus has more windows which can be opened creating more air flow.

I would rather be on a 150 or 156 in this sort of area than a 158

I agree that a 150/156 is better than a 158 but even they get bad over 25 degrees. And buses/trams will tend to go more slowly than even a 150 on a stopping service.

 

[800001]

Although in practice some dont.

in what way do you mean?

Engineers from a company providing new fleet of busses to my depot (all electric) state electric busses have to have aircon due to the heat provided by the batteries.

If aircon not working bus does not enter service.

Anyway, this is off topic to the forum thread

 

[Bikeman78]

From the perspective of the driver, I tend to agree.

As far as the passenger saloon is concerned, the number of days in the year when it is really necessary on urban buses - given the fact that most people's journeys are short and doors are being opened every minute or two - has up until recently been very low indeed, and even on those days it's probably only the afternoon peak where it is really needed. Things are changing, however.

The difference from your car is that a car's "kit" will be assuming that drivers will be thinking about the occasions they do long motorway journeys (even if they don't actually do many!)

S stock proved 15 years ago that doors opening frequently does not stop the air con working well. Never mind transport, I'm almost certainly going to invest in air con for my house within the next year. Third heatwave of the year and it's only early July. If me investing in air con means damp summers for the next few years (sod's law applies) then I still consider that a win.

 

[Starmill]

in what way do you mean?

Engineers from a company providing new fleet of busses to my depot (all electric) state electric busses have to have aircon due to the heat provided by the batteries.

If aircon not working bus does not enter service.

Anyway, this is off topic to the forum thread

Loads of battery powered buses don't have saloon air conditioning. They are likely to just have cab air conditioning and special cooling for the battery bays. I'm always grateful to see the ones that do of course.

 

[Jimini]

in what way do you mean?

Engineers from a company providing new fleet of busses to my depot (all electric) state electric busses have to have aircon due to the heat provided by the batteries.

If aircon not working bus does not enter service.

Anyway, this is off topic to the forum thread

Off topic -- agreed -- but you should try the new all-electric 17 buses back home in Reading. Torture!

(Edit: worth noting that it's the busiest route in the town.)

 

[Andy Pacer]

in what way do you mean?

Engineers from a company providing new fleet of busses to my depot (all electric) state electric busses have to have aircon due to the heat provided by the batteries.

If aircon not working bus does not enter service.

Anyway, this is off topic to the forum thread

Indeed off topic, but as you've asked the question, most of the Wright Electroliners with Arriva in Leicester were spec'd as no air con to extend battery range.
Apologies again for the off topic deviation.

 

[Minilad]

I'll be heading to Clacton, so staying on the train is quite a tempting prospect!

You are Count Binface and I claim my £5

 

[Russel]

You are Count Binface and I claim my £5

I've been called worse!

 

[Kevin51]

Do you mean systems to cool the engine or the inside of the train? If the latter, it’s called a window.

How does a window cool a train, or anything else for that matter?

 

[mickey]

GWR DMU fleet seems to be dying too,
copied from GWR travel information
[…]
Multiple cancellations Bristol - Westbury -Salisbury too (although these don't yet have a page on travel advice

Rather feels like a DMU crisis, breaking down, no serviceable spares, are they simply be worked unrealistically hard, beyond point where they can repair them fast enough

Live Train Times and Journey Updates | Great Western Railway

See the Great Western Railway TrainTracker for live departure times and up-to-the-minute train journey updates.

www.gwr.com

Their website is a bit misleading tbh. The units are (mostly) working fine, but because of the lack of cab-cooling in 165s it can be too hot for drivers and if so they can refuse to take them out. There was a lot of discussion about this in last month’s heatwave thread so probably better to refer there rather than add more here.