Weather: Red alert persists as Met Office warns of 'extreme heat'

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One commuter said some people were “panicking and in tears” after hearing two explosions as the service approached Birmingham New Street Station in the city centre. The West Midlands Railway service, travelling from Lichfield, Staffordshire, suffered issues due to the “extreme temperatures” – the hottest ever on record in the UK. 

Passengers described seeing overhead cables fall to the side of the train, and the carriages shaking.

A 30-year-old passenger told Birmingham Live: “As we were coming from Duddeston to Birmingham there was an explosion and everything shook. People thought we had crashed.

“We saw the overhead lines fall off onto the track. The train just carried on and then it happened again and the cables fell down again.

“The train then completely came to a stop and all the lights went off. It’s so dark on the train. They’ve given us glow sticks but they don’t really do much. We are waiting to get off the train when the lights are sorted so we can walk through the tunnel to the platform.

“There’s no water on the train. We’re melting. There are some ladies on here who are freaking out and a pregnant lady at the other end of the train to me who is panicking.”

Birmingham New Street, the busiest UK station outside of the capital, said overhead power lines have been affected by the weather.

All services in and out of the hub have been suspended while engineers investigate the problem.

The station tweeted: “The Cross City line to / from Lichfield is currently suspended. This is because of the impact of the extreme temperatures on the overhead power lines Because of the hot weather, advice today is please DO NOT TRAVEL. @WestMidRailway @TransportForWM @WMRailExecutive.”

One passenger said: “It was such a relief to get off that train.”

Another added: “It was busier than usual, quite a busy train to be fair. People are off work with kids off school. I’d say about 60 to 65 per cent capacity.”

When the heatwave was forecast last week, some train companies cancelled services in advance of its arrival.

Avanti West Coast warned passengers services over the weekend were to be affected by the weather and by a shortage of train crew.

The weather will remain warm all week, with the occasional shower anticipated too.

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