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Trains cancelled and delayed after heatwave damage

Trains are canceled and rail services halted after Britain recorded its hottest day on record.

Network Rail said there are no direct trains running between London and Scotland due to heatwave damage.

It urged passengers to do their research before they travel and only travel if absolutely necessary.

It comes after record-breaking temperatures topped 40C on Tuesday, which caused damage to overhead wires and railway tracks.

Repair work is being carried out across the UK rail network.

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More than two dozen services departing from London’s King’s Cross and Euston stations were canceled or delayed on Wednesday morning.

Operations on the East Coast Main Line, linking London and Edinburgh, have been halted following a fire on the line near Sandy in Bedfordshire.

The route between King’s Cross and Peterborough is expected to remain closed until at least midday.

There are now no direct trains on the West Coast Main Line between London and Scotland.

Network Rail, which owns and operates most train lines in the UK, warned passengers that journeys could take “much longer than normal” and involve trips on rail replacement buses as work to repair the railway continues.

James Dean, manager of Network Rail’s West Coast South route, issued an apology to passengers affected by the disruption.

He added: “Special teams worked all night but were unable to repair the cables in time for operations to begin this morning. We’re doing everything we can to get things working again.

“Meanwhile, please check National Rail inquiries before you travel as there will be delays today.”

Travel expert Simon Calder said “hundreds” of passengers faced disruption at King’s Cross station on Wednesday morning.

“There are hundreds [of people] in the waiting room looking at the sign that simply says “There are no trains.” Everything is cancelled,” he told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today Programme.

“The reason people are still here instead of going to another station is because next door in London St Pancras International the only places you can go is Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam or Kent because all lines northbound from there are closed.”

It follows a severe travel disruption on Tuesday that saw most travel canceled through the Met Office’s extreme heat zone, which covered much of central, north and south-east England.

No services ran to or from King’s Cross all day.

The cancellations were due to the heat compromising the safety of steel railroad tracks, which can buckle if the heat gets too high.

Railway speed limits have been introduced across most of England and Wales, with reports of buckled tracks and overheard wire systems failing on Monday.

Trains that ran were mostly limited to speeds of 90 mph, 100 mph or 125 mph, while some had to go as slow as 20 mph.