UK rail disruptions intensify as May heatwave persists

Britain's rail network experienced severe disruption on Tuesday as a historic heatwave continued to grip the country, forcing widespread cancellations and delays. The most significant incident involved smoke reported on the tracks between London Waterloo and Vauxhall stations, prompting South Western Railway (SWR) to impose speed restrictions and cancel services while emergency safety checks were conducted.

The disruption affected one of the nation's busiest rail corridors, with delays expected on routes connecting London Waterloo to destinations including Guildford, Woking, Chessington South, Dorking, Hampton Court, Shepperton, and Strawberry Hill. SWR did not confirm whether the smoke was directly related to the high temperatures, but the operator had already preemptively canceled a number of services to minimize heat-related disruption. These cancellations affected journeys between London Waterloo and Weymouth via Winchester, Southampton, and Bournemouth, as well as routes to Aldershot via Woking and Guildford. Some services from Exeter and Salisbury were also terminating at Basingstoke instead of continuing to central London.

Separately, National Rail reported disruption on...