Record track temperatures of 62C were recorded in Suffolk on Monday, with even hotter temperatures expected on Tuesday. Rising temperatures led Network Rail and overnight train operators to step up advice to avoid trains to a strict ‘do not travel’ warning for services north of London, with problems including bent rails and broken cables expected to multiply during the day. The East Coast Main Line was closed entirely between London and Leeds and York, halting LNER intercity trains and Thameslink services. The Midland Main Line between Derby, Nottingham and London was also closed from lunchtime as it got hotter – halting fast services to London Luton Airport, which reopened on Monday evening after heat-related faults closed the runway landing on flights. The remaining intercity services on the West Coast Avanti, West Midlands and Chiltern have also been disrupted. Dozens of snapped rails were reported across Britain on Monday, while overhead lines snapped at two points in north-east England. Jake Kelly, Network Rail’s director of operations, said he had “not taken the decision” to upgrade travel advice, adding that any journey within the Met Office’s “red zone” of high heat “would be long, disrupted and uncomfortable. “. Most London Underground and Underground trains were running with severe delays, with parts of the line suspended due to the heat. Transport for London advises against non-essential travel on Monday and Tuesday. Drivers stayed away from city centres, with congestion levels down significantly in London, Birmingham and Manchester in the morning rush hour from a week ago, according to figures from satnav company TomTom. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk UK transport secretary Grant Shapps said it could take decades to upgrade existing lines to be more durable, with the UK’s Victorian-era infrastructure “not built to withstand this type of temperature”. He said the railways, as well as many asphalt roads, would require “a long process of replacing it and upgrading it to withstand temperatures, either very hot or sometimes much colder than we are used to, and these are the effects of global warming”. Asked if the transport system could cope with extreme weather, Shapps replied: “The simple answer at the moment is no.”
