Heat Related Disruption - 13 Aug 2026

[Mattplans]

Unsure if heated related but there are bad delays out of London this evening. Crowd control in place at Farringdon

Major disruption on GTR between London and Bedford it seems. All lines blocked due to OHLE issues.

 

[allbarbarry]

Major disruption on GTR between London and Bedford it seems. All lines blocked due to OHLE issues.

Yes and I’ve seen EMR and GTR have issued ‘do not travel advice’. TfL reporting severe delays on Elizabeth and various tube lines as well, which doesn’t help in terms of loading.

 

[Snow1964]

GWR now using air conditioning fault on their travel advice

Due to severe weather between Weymouth and Westbury:
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations have been suspended. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice:
-
We are sorry for the disruption to your journey today.
-
What has happened?
-
A number of trains that would run between Weymouth and Westbury have developed air conditioning faults owing to the extreme heat.

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

Seems more honest to say they have air conditioning faults

 

[LCC106]

Deleted, my fault

 

[bramling]

Major disruption on GTR between London and Bedford it seems. All lines blocked due to OHLE issues.

GN side certainly not running smoothly tonight either.

I turned up at Hitchin for 2C65 to London. No problem with this, turned up more or less on time, and so far has stayed that way.

However the station was absolutely heaving, which is certainly not normal for the time of night. Seemingly people using it as a railhead for the Midland side, and little trace of any usable Thaneslink service on either the Brighton or Horsham routes. Goofy teenagers everywhere which was also rather irritating.

On the plus side 387104’s air conditioning is working well.

Edit - just passed 700037 on what I presume is the 2136 KX to Cambridge, fully crush loaded leaving Finsbury Park by the look of it. Definitely not a great GN evening. Haven’t seen any Thameslink service on the GN side, so seems like another example of the Thameslink service evaporating into thin air and shutting up shop at the first hint of issues. Presumably Hitchin-Peterborough completely stuffed in consequence.

 

[Mattplans]

Major disruption on GTR between London and Bedford it seems. All lines blocked due to OHLE issues.

GTR disruption this evening sees a very rare routing at Blackfriars, with a Southeastern Blackfriars to Hayes service routed into platform 2 (through platform)


This did cause a bit of disruption last time it happened ( post 46 onwards - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/wrong-route-accepted-hypothetical.164842/page-2#post-3475933) but it looks like the core will be closed for the rest of the day

 

[Minstral25]

There are virtually no Thameslink Trains running south of London - where have they all gone? Not even a shuttle from London Bridge to Gatwick, yet virtually nothing on their web site about south of London Bridge.

 

[The exile]

Building trains without openable windows is stupid. I don't care what the cost analysis says.

I would suggest “grossly negligent” is closer to the mark.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There are virtually no Thameslink Trains running south of London - where have they all gone? Not even a shuttle from London Bridge to Gatwick, yet virtually nothing on their web site about south of London Bridge.

The level of "give up and go home" in this incident is absolutely shocking. There isn't even any acceptance at all noted on EMR's website, and Thameslink's mobile site doesn't reference it at all!

Do not travel is no use if you're trying to get home in the evening having already travelled.

 

[speedy1]

Looking at tomorrow's forecast, I'm surprised they've not extended the weather alert ? 21 overnight then 33c no cloud in central London tomorrow - well above the Met Office 'heatwave' threshold of 28c.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Looking at tomorrow's forecast, I'm surprised they've not extended the weather alert ? 21 overnight then 33c no cloud in central London tomorrow - well above the Met Office 'heatwave' threshold of 28c.

WMT have already bustituted the Marston Vale for Friday.

 

[Minstral25]

The level of "give up and go home" in this incident is absolutely shocking. There isn't even any acceptance at all noted on EMR's website, and Thameslink's mobile site doesn't reference it at all!

Do not travel is no use if you're trying to get home in the evening having already travelled.

Agreed and the do not travel is for St Pancras to Bedford. Yet nothing at Blackfriars or London Bridge heading south and no information for people already at work or shows in London on how to get home.

 

[bramling]

There are virtually no Thameslink Trains running south of London - where have they all gone? Not even a shuttle from London Bridge to Gatwick, yet virtually nothing on their web site about south of London Bridge.

Arlesey doesn’t appear to have seen an up service after 1811 this evening, and virtually nothing down in that time either.

I’m not sure why this is, certainly the GN side doesn’t seem to have suffered any massive issues.

 

[bunnahabhain]

Though replacement buses are often coaches which tend to be air conditioned, as it's easier to hire these. And there's also that the employee relations situation is rather different - in short a bus driver is less likely to refuse to drive because of heat than a train driver, though I comment not on the rights and wrongs of that.

Not anymore. Rail replacement that is preplanned no longer has a derogation from the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). If the rail replacement stops within 15 miles, it must have automatic announcements and display screens showing the next stop. There's a very small percentage of coaches that have this fitted. Many operators are now struggling to source compliant for example EMR today ended up with a lot of minibuses.

Whilst laudable, it feels very much like a tail wagging the dog exercise in ticking an accessibility box that will just make everything worse off.

 

[david1212]

Looking at the RealTime Trains website there were issues towards Brighton at least a couple of hours before the 1F36 14:54 Victoria to Ore service departed unrelated to the incident between Wivelsfield and Lewes.

The 1W62 12:59 GatEx Victoria to Brighton ran to time up to around Purley then was 41 minutes late by Horley and was terminated at Haywards Heath 51 minutes late.
The 9T31 11:46 Thameslink Bedford to Brighton that should have followed was only 5 minutes late at Horley and arrived into Brighton 9 minutes late.
The 9S29 11:51 Thameslink Cambridge to Brighton started 10 minutes late, was 16 minutes late at Horley, 28 minutes late departing Three Bridges and arrived into Brighton 30 minutes late.
The 1W66 13:29 GatEx Victoria to Brighton was just 6 minutes late by Horley so overtook the 12:59 1W62, 13 minutes late departing Three Bridges and arrived into Brighton 16 minutes late.
The 9T33 12:16 Thameslink Bedford to Brighton was 11 minutes late at Horley and arrived into Brighton 15 minutes late.
The 9S31 12:22 Thameslink Cambridge to Brighton started 10 minutes late, was 18 minutes late at Horley and arrived into Brighton 17 minutes late.
The 1W70 13:59 GatEx Victoria to Brighton started 10 minutes late, was 28 minutes late by Horley and was terminated at Haywards Heath 35 minutes late.
The 9T35 12:46 Thameslink Bedford to Brighton was 16 minutes late at Horley and arrived into Brighton 17 minutes late.
The 9S33 12:51 Thameslink Cambridge to Brighton was 21 minutes late at Horley and arrived into Brighton 21 minutes late.

From all the times the problem(s) seem to have been between Purley and Salfords but I wonder why the 12:59 and 13:59 GatEx Victoria to Brighton were delayed the longest and hence terminated?

 

[Horizon22]

Major disruption on GTR between London and Bedford it seems. All lines blocked due to OHLE issues.

Also Elizabeth line services disrupted what appears to be a person struck by a train on GEML and a failed freight train on GWML so no doubt crowd control to prevent a crush.

 

[speedy1]

Not anymore. Rail replacement that is preplanned no longer has a derogation from the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). If the rail replacement stops within 15 miles, it must have automatic announcements and display screens showing the next stop. There's a very small percentage of coaches that have this fitted. Many operators are now struggling to source compliant for example EMR today ended up with a lot of minibuses.

Whilst laudable, it feels very much like a tail wagging the dog exercise in ticking an accessibility box that will just make everything worse off.

I wonder how the disabled and less able felt about that during the disruption today? Genuinely. Anyone reading this less able/disabled and stranded yesterday?

 

[Snow1964]

Not anymore. Rail replacement that is preplanned no longer has a derogation from the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). If the rail replacement stops within 15 miles, it must have automatic announcements and display screens showing the next stop. There's a very small percentage of coaches that have this fitted. Many operators are now struggling to source compliant for example EMR today ended up with a lot of minibuses.

Whilst laudable, it feels very much like a tail wagging the dog exercise in ticking an accessibility box that will just make everything worse off.

There is an exemption for emergency replacement buses.

But not those where closure was decided in advance of the incident.

The rules were significantly tightened at beginning of August, and some destination equipment was delayed because bus firms didn't order it early enough to allow for Brexit created customs delays and UK type approval

 

[peteb]

There is a massive fire ongoing in a field that has spread to houses and businesses north of Hagley - the railway cuts straight through the affected area. I'm not on site but looks like everything has been stopped beyond Stourbridge.

Services still suspended today Friday 14th between Kidderminster and Stourbridge, some trains running Birmingham Snow Hill to Stourbridge and turning back there. For anyone trying to get to the Severn Valley Railway be aware that the 25 bus is diverted between Stourbridge and Kidderminster (as its usual route passes the field which was on fire). An alternative from Birmingham is bus 9 to Halesowen Bus Station then 192 bus to Kidderminster Railway Station.

 

[kje7812]

Services still suspended today Friday 14th between Kidderminster and Stourbridge, some trains running Birmingham Snow Hill to Stourbridge and turning back there. For anyone trying to get to the Severn Valley Railway be aware that the 25 bus is diverted between Stourbridge and Kidderminster (as its usual route passes the field which was on fire). An alternative from Birmingham is bus 9 to Halesowen Bus Station then 192 bus to Kidderminster Railway Station.

Fortunately in this case, the SVR isn't running public services on Fridays at the moment. We'll have to wait and see if the disruption carries on into tomorrow.

 

[wilsontown]

It's a bit of an issue, isn't it? The railway isn't reliable in summer because it's too hot. It isn't reliable in winter because it's too wet and/or windy. And it isn't reliable in general because much of the infrastructure is knackered, much of the rolling stock is knackered, there aren't enough staff, and there's engineering work all over the place.

 

[andyjhatton]

It's a bit of an issue, isn't it? The railway isn't reliable in summer because it's too hot. It isn't reliable in winter because it's too wet and/or windy. And it isn't reliable in general because much of the infrastructure is knackered, much of the rolling stock is knackered, there aren't enough staff, and there's engineering work all over the place.

And to top it off, it's running at a massive loss.

 

[josh-j]

And to top it off, it's running at a massive loss.

The railway is a service, not a business - even if some businesses are grafted into it, as a whole it is a service. Roads "operate at a loss" too. All sorts of public services do not directly make money, why should they? They have societal and economic benefits that are worth paying for.

It isnt operating at a loss. That loss is called "funding", and there isn't enough of it which is why there isn't enough maintenance done.

 

[apbj]

Also Elizabeth line services disrupted what appears to be a person struck by a train on GEML and a failed freight train on GWML so no doubt crowd control to prevent a crush.

There was also an evacuation onto track at Hayes and Harlington caused by a power failure and passengers subsequently trapped without air. Heathrow-bound customers carrying suitcases along the tracks.

 

[InTheEastMids]

And to top it off, it's running at a massive loss.

If you're worried about the railway running at a loss, you should see the losses the NHS has been accruing, year after year since 1948.

It's a bit of an issue, isn't it? The railway isn't reliable in summer because it's too hot. It isn't reliable in winter because it's too wet and/or windy. And it isn't reliable in general because much of the infrastructure is knackered, much of the rolling stock is knackered, there aren't enough staff, and there's engineering work all over the place.

This is an increasingly popular public perception. It's especially true for people I talk to up in here in EMR-land where we have both the current everyday-shambles of reduced timetables, cancellations. over-full trains and high ticket prices coupled with what seem to be relatively frequent omnishambles events where things disintegrate entirely - e.g. yesterday.

 

[Iskra]

Not sure if it’s heat related but one of the TfW 67 sets has failed and has evacuated onto a 323

 

[david1212]

Potentially heat related looking at Realtime Trains then National Rail there was a track issue between Leamington Spa and Banbury for around 2 hours from 08:30 today with Chiltern services in both directions cancelled and Cross-Country 60+ minute delays or cancelled, the latter perhaps because the train forming the service was still being inbound or turned short.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Potentially heat related looking at Realtime Trains then National Rail there was a track issue between Leamington Spa and Banbury for around 2 hours from 08:30 today with Chiltern services in both directions cancelled and Cross-Country 60+ minute delays or cancelled, the latter perhaps because the train forming the service was still being inbound or turned short.

I'm not massively surprised by that, as in that location the train I was on on Wednesday evening lurched very hard side to side indicating some sort of developing defect. In retrospect I should probably have reported it (though I would imagine the driver probably also did), but this is far harder now I no longer partake in "X".

 

[GraphitProjekt]

I've done about 6 trips over the Ely-Peterborough line in recent weeks and it is a seriously bumpy ride, mostly I've been in the back carriage as well.

 

[AndrewE]

I've done about 6 trips over the Ely-Cambridge line in recent weeks and it is a seriously bumpy ride, mostly I've been in the back carriage as well.

I wouldn't fancy a bumpy ride in the back carriage, thank you... but I suppose out in the Fens one takes what is on offer!