There are fears hospitals will be overwhelmed, schools could be forced to close, and transport links may grind to a halt due to train cancellations and melted roads.
It has led to the Met Office issuing a red extreme heat warning for much of England today and tomorrow, with health officials declaring a 'national emergency'. Most tracks across the UK are made of long pieces of rail that are stretched and welded together.īritain could experience its hottest day on record today, with temperatures forecast to hit up to 41☌ (106☏).īut just why is the country in the midst of such a sweltering heatwave?Įxperts say it is due to a number of factors, including winds blowing hot air up from north Africa and the Sahara, the 'Azores High' subtropical pressure system creeping farther north, and the ongoing impacts of climate change. 'This technique is also used in countries where high temperatures are more commonplace, such as Italy, where engineers often paint the inside faces of the rails white to reflect the sunlight and lower the risk of buckling.' One of the key ways that networks prevent tracks from overheating is by painting them white.ĭr John Easton, an executive panel member of the IET's Railway Technical Network, explained: 'This can reduce the track temperature by 5☌ and reduces signalling failures which lead to significant disruption. 'Modern overhead lines, such as those in place on the lines between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich, Braintree, Cambridge and London Liverpool Street, and those installed on the Southend Victoria line, do not sag in high temperatures, avoiding the need for precautionary speed restrictions,' Greater Anglia explained. The Met Office has put a red warning in place, as temperatures in parts of the country are set to hit 41C 'This can disrupt journeys because we often have to wait until the rail temperature has dropped before we can carry out these essential repairs,' it added.Īnother issue for railway networks amid the heatwave is the risk of overhead wires overheating. When this happens, the network is forced to close the line and carry out repairs before trains can run again. Unfortunately, even with prevention measures in place, rails can buckle. 'Slower trains cause lower forces on the track – this reduces the chance of buckling,' it explained. When the systems detect that a section of track might be expanding too much and heading towards a buckle, Network Rail introduces local speed restrictions.
Network Rail uses remote monitoring systems to keep an eye on its tracks.
However, with temperatures in parts of the UK set to hit 105☏ (41☌), we could see parts of the rails start to buckle. This is the equivalent to an air temperature of around 86☏ (30☌). Most of the network can operate when track temperatures hit up to 114☏ (46☌), according to Network Rail. Britain's railway tracks cover more than 20,000 miles and are made from steel.
0 kommentar(er)
