Passengers planning on using the East Coast Main Line today (Wednesday, 20 July) were told to delay travel due to severe disruption.
Teams from Network Rail had to carry out repair and recovery work after a fire spread onto the railway line in Sandy, Bedfordshire, which is on the route between Selby and York to and from London King’s Cross.
The incident caused damage to signalling equipment and a level crossing in the area, both of which needed complex repairs.
LNER said: “Although the weather warnings are no longer in place, the extreme heat has caused major damage to the railway infrastructure on the LNER network.
“As a result of this, LNER are advising customers NOT TO TRAVEL today, Wednesday 20 July.
“The route between London Kings Cross and Peterborough is currently closed and is expected to remain closed until at least 12pm today.
“Once repairs are complete and the line does re-open, LNER will only then operate a reduced service for the remainder of the day.”
At 2pm this afternoon they said a limited service had started running again.
Track checks
Rail teams needed to inspect the track for damage after temperatures on the rails reached 39.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the hottest recorded place on the East Coast Main Line.
Anyone who is planning on using the East Coast Main Line is strongly advised to check before travelling, which they can do via National Rail Enquiries or by contacting their train operator.
Hull Trains at Selby and Grand Central at Thirsk and Northallerton have also been affected.
LNER tickets are valid for use on any LNER train on:
- Thursday 21 July
- Friday 22 July
To make sure you have a comfortable journey you can book a new seat reservation for free and use your original ticket onboard the train you select.
No longer travelling: You’ll be entitled to a full refund or you can change your ticket to another date.
Find out more on the National Rail pages:
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