The mercury hit 35C in Kew Gardens on Tuesday afternoon, making it the hottest May day ever recorded, beating Monday’s top of 34.8C.
Before this year, the May peak had stood at 32.8C, reached in 1922 and 1944.
Victoria Embankment
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A number of services have struggled to cope with the heat, causing chaos for commuters.
Here are all the rail services in and around London which are being affected by the hot weather on Tuesday.
South Western signalling problems
The train operator runs commuter services from Waterloo to south west London, suburban services in Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Dorset, as well as regional services in Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire.
In an update on its website, SWR, which also operates services on the Isle of Wight, said: “Due to multiple signalling problems all lines are disrupted.
“Train services running across the whole South Western Railway network may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
“Due to multiple signalling faults, track defects and heat-related speed restrictions across the South Western Railway network, trains are required to run at a reduced speed on a number of lines which is likely to delay your journey.
“Engineers are currently attending the issues that are most impacting the train services across our network.”
Delays between Peterborough and London Kings Cross
There have been a number of heat-related incidents between Peterborough and Stevenage on Tuesday disrupting some lines running between Peterborough and London Kings Cross.
Trains between these stations will be delayed throughout the rest of the day.
- Grand Central between Sunderland / Bradford Interchange and London Kings Cross
- Hull Trains between Beverley / Hull and London Kings Cross
- All LNER routes to / from London Kings Cross
- Lumo between Edinburgh and London Kings Cross
Issues at Deptford station
A problem with the platform equipment at Deptford means that trains are unable to call at platform 2.
As such, trains will not call at this platform and will run non-stop from London Bridge to Greenwich in this direction only, with disruption expected until the end of the day.
This is affecting Southeastern services between London Cannon Street / London Bridge and Dartford, and also London Cannon Street circular services.
It is also impacting Thameslink services between West Hampstead Thameslink / Kentish Town and Rainham (Kent), and also between Kentish Town and Gillingham.
A points failure at London Euston has blocked some lines, while there has also been a fault with the signalling system between Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed.
Major disruption between Watford Junction and London Euston / Clapham Junction
Speed restrictions caused by high track temperatures between Watford Junction and London Euston & Clapham Junction means that all lines are disrupted.
Met Office
Trains running between these stations are running at reduced speeds and may be delayed by up to 50 minutes or cancelled, with disruption expected until the end of the day.
This is affecting a number of Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, London Overground, and Southern services.
Liverpool Street speed restrictions
There is a speed restriction in place due to high track temperatures between London Liverpool Street and Cheshunt / Stratford.
Trains are therefore running at a reduced speed on some lines.
- Elizabeth line services between London Liverpool Street and Gidea Park / Shenfield, and between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Shenfield
- Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street and Norwich / Ipswich / Clacton-on-Sea / Braintree / Southend Victoria / Cambridge
- Stansted Express between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport
Tube and Overground services
A number of Tube and Overground lines are currently also suffering from delays – though some of these are not weather related.
As of 5.30pm, affected lines include:
- Central: Severe delays due to train cancellations
- District: Severe delays between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway due to a points failure at Turnham Green
- Lioness: Severe delays due to a points failure at Euston
- Mildmay: Severe delays between Willesden Junction and Richmond due to train cancellations
- Northern: Severe delays due to a points failure at East Finchley
- Piccadilly: Severe delays due to a points failure at Acton Town
- Suffragette: No service between Barking and Barking Riverside due to a points failure at Barking Riverside, and severe delays on the rest of the line due to an earlier broken down freight train at Woodgrange Park
- Windrush: Severe delays between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction due to a signal failure at Clapham High Street
