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These days Britain is in the grip of extreme heat and heatwave (Heatwave in UK), due to which life there is being badly affected. The situation is such that the effect of heat is now directly visible on the transport system and painful incidents of derailment of trains due to hot tracks are coming to light. There has been a stir in the entire country due to two major train accidents in the country’s railway network within just 24 hours. This dire situation has raised serious questions on the security system and infrastructure of British Railways, after which the administration has come on complete alert mode.
Two major accidents in 24 hours: How did the tracks overturn?
In the last 24 hours, trains have derailed at two different places on Britain’s rail network. The first accident occurred near Lewes area of East Sussex, where several carriages of a passenger train coming from London Victoria suddenly derailed and overturned. Many passengers were seriously injured in this horrific accident, who were immediately taken to the nearest trauma center. The horror of this incident had not yet subsided when the very next day, the rear carriages of another Greater Anglia train derailed near Wickford railway station in Essex. Fortunately, there was no major loss of life or property in the second accident, but these continuous accidents have created fear in the hearts of the passengers.
Record breaking heat and dreadful effects of scorching tracks
Experts believe that the extreme heat and temperature in Britain has a big role to play in these accidents. During summer heatwaves, when the strong rays of the sun fall directly on the iron tracks, the track temperature exceeds the air temperature by about 20 degrees Celsius. Due to excessive heat, steel tracks start expanding and bending, which is called ‘track buckling’ in technical language. When a high-speed train passes through these crooked or stretched tracks, the balance gets disturbed and accidents like train derailment occur.
Serious questions raised on the functioning of Network Rail
After these continuous accidents, sharp questions are being raised on the functioning of Britain’s railway infrastructure company ‘Network Rail’ and other operators. Opposition leaders and local MPs have expressed concern about the maintenance and safety audit of the tracks. However, Network Rail officials said they had taken a number of precautionary measures to deal with the heat and that temperatures were being monitored. Despite this, completely overcoming such natural and technical challenges is proving to be a big challenge for the railway administration, due to which rail journeys have been affected on a large scale.
Traffic completely stopped, passengers are facing huge problems
After these two tragic accidents, traffic on many main rail routes of Britain has come to a complete standstill. The operation of trains on important lines connecting London with other parts of the country has been stopped indefinitely. Thousands of passengers are stranded at stations and are facing huge difficulties to reach their destination. In view of the seriousness of the situation, the Railway Administration has advised passengers to travel only when absolutely necessary and to check the route status before leaving home, while the Railway Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is investigating the entire matter closely.