GWR to run amended service during extreme heat following rare Met Office red weather warning

Due to a rare red warning of extreme heat, GWR is warning customers of essential travel only on Wednesday and Thursday.

Extreme heat can cause rails to expand and buckle, so when temperatures reach certain thresholds, trains must run more slowly to keep services safe. This will mean fewer trains and slightly longer journey times during the warmest periods of each day.

Prolonged high temperatures can also affect equipment on our older regional train fleet, including engines and cooling systems. This means there may be some short-notice changes or cancellations, particularly during the hottest parts of the day.

To help customers, GWR is easing ticket restrictions for those with tickets to travel on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 June; tickets for Wednesday and Thursday can be used on Monday 22, Tues 23 and up to and including Friday 26 June.

While GWR expects to operate the majority of services across its network, the reduction follows the Met Office extreme heat weather warning from Monday 22 June until Thursday 25 June.

What customers should do:

• Only travel if necessary on Wednesday and Thursday: The Met Office says the high temperatures could lead to serious illness.
• Check before you travel: Where possible, plan ahead and check journey times closer to the time of travel, particularly for the hottest part of the day.
• Allow extra time: Journeys are likely to take longer than usual, so build this into your plans, especially if you have a connection to make or need to be somewhere by a specific time.
• Bring water: Carry water with you, particularly if you expect to be travelling during the hottest periods or waiting on platforms.
• If you feel unwell, don't board: If you are waiting for a train and feel unwell due to the heat, please speak to a member of staff, who will be able to help.

Customers in the Thames Valley should plan for changes to trains during the hottest parts of the day on Monday and Tuesday as well, as service alterations will take place to reduce the need for trains to cross sections of track.

Calling patterns of some local stopping services between London and Reading will be changed to minimise the use of points, which move trains between tracks, to reduce the risk of points failure. This mainly affects all-stations services that normally use the slower relief lines, with changes to trains serving Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford.

Due to the short notice changes, industry information systems will not show the correct train timetable until the day of travel.

GWR and Network Rail Performance Director, Daryn McCombe, said:

“We want to keep our customers safe during this period of extreme heat, which is why we are taking the precautionary step of amending services at the hottest times of day. We know this is disruptive and we're sorry for the inconvenience it will cause, but customer safety must come first.

“We'd encourage everyone planning to travel on Wednesday and Thursday to travel earlier in the week or later, allow extra time and bring water with them.”

Customers who purchased tickets but do not travel can claim a full refund or amend their ticket. Those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to  Delay Repay compensation if they are delayed by 15 minutes or more.   

For the latest service information, customers should check GWR.com before travelling.