Disruption expected into next week after derailments
Two derailments last week have left lines blocked in Sussex and Essex. Inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch have been examining the evidence from both sites, and there has been speculation that the very hot weather may have been a factor. National Rail has also reported problems with overhead wires on the East Coast Main Line.
Investigators work to find 'root cause' of Lewes derailmentGreater Thameslink Railway interim CEO John Whitehurst says the root cause of last night’s derailment near Lewes will be the subject of an ‘open investigation’. Twenty people were injured in the crash, two of them seriously, when the three trailing cars of a Southern train became derailed and overturned in a lineside field.
Hot weather causes reductions, but EMR improvesThe number of trains running on some routes has been reduced because of the very hot weather, but there was better news from East Midlands Railway, which is planning to restore some of the services which were axed in response to problems with the new Class 810 Aurora fleet as well as the established Class 222 Meridians. EMR said some intercity services withdrawn last month will be running again from 31 August.
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