Heatwave travel chaos as key train services cancelled in and out of London

The UK’s ongoing heatwave is causing misery for commuters after key services were cancelled or severely delayed.

Services including South Western Railway (SWR), LNER and Great Northern are affected as the country continues to swelter in record-breaking heat.

Earlier today, smoke was spotted on a South Western Railway train track between London Waterloo and Vauxhall stations.

SWR confirmed they have cancelled some services following the incident.

Trains on other lines are also being forced to run slower than usual while a safety inspection takes place.

Delays are expected to and from London Waterloo and Guildford, Woking, Chessington South, Dorking, Hampton Court, Shepperton, and Strawberry Hill.

SWR did not say whether the incident is related to high temperatures.

The company had already cancelled a number of services scheduled today to ‘help minimise any potential disruption’ from the hot weather.

It warned that this may affect journeys between London Waterloo and Weymouth via Winchester, Southampton, and Bournemouth, and between London Waterloo and Aldershot via Woking and Guildford.

Meanwhile, the Elizabeth Line is disrupted between London Liverpool Street and Stratford in a further blow to commuters.

LNER said services on what are usually 125mph lines have been slowed to just 20mph at St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and Tollerton, North Yorkshire.

Further alterations to services are expected as the operator is running more Azuma trains rather than its InterCity225 trains, as they have better air conditioning.

Meanwhile, Great Northern services between Cambridge and Kings Lynn are suspended because of damage to overhead electric wires.

It comes after a record for the highest daily minimum temperature for May was set overnight, making it a ‘tropical night’.

Temperatures did not fall below 21.3°C at Kenley Airfield, south London, breaking the record for the highest daily minimum temperature in May.

The mercury is expected to climb as high as 34°C in London today after the hottest day of May was recorded yesterday at 34.8°C.

The previous record was set in 1944, when Britain was baked by 32.8°C.

Forecasters described the heat as ‘unprecedented for the time of year,’ stressing that temperature records are typically broken by only fractions of a degree.

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