NoPassengers returning from London Stansted Airport posted footage of being forced to cross railways as trains were evacuated on the same day England set a record high of 40.2 degrees Celsius. Due to intense heat.
The incident took place on Tuesday, July 19, and at 6 p.m., thermometers read 38.9º Celsius.
“The convoy got stuck and we had to be evacuated on the hottest day of the year,” said one of the passengers. The images you can see in the gallery above.
“We should have stayed another day off,” he added.
According to The Independent, commuters went to Broxbourne station where they hailed taxis.
Rail company Greater Anglia confirmed a power supply problem due to the extreme heat and warned passengers to avoid journeys for the day.
Britain’s transport secretary Grant Shabbs explained at the time that England’s transport infrastructure, some of which dates back to the Victorian era, was “not built to withstand these kinds of temperatures”, noting that it would take “years” to replace them.
In fact, London’s King’s Cross station, which sees more than 200,000 people every day, was practically empty on Tuesday as dozens of trains to cities such as Edinburgh, Newcastle, Hull, Leeds or York were cancelled.
Network Rail, the company responsible for maintaining the rail network whose tracks are painted white to reflect the heat, revealed on Monday that some lines had reached 62 degrees Celsius.
Climatologists have warned that global warming has increased the frequency of extreme weather events, with studies showing temperatures in the UK are now 10 times more likely to reach 40°C than in pre-industrial times.
Droughts and heat waves associated with climate change have also made fighting wildfires more difficult.
Also read: UK under yellow warning for storm after hot day
“Total creator. Devoted tv fanatic. Communicator. Evil pop culture buff. Social media advocate.”
