Overview
- A Southern service near Lewes overturned three carriages and injured about 20 people, with two taken to hospital with serious injuries and others treated and released.
- Less than 24 hours later a Greater Anglia train partially derailed near Wickford with rear carriages off the rails but upright and no reported injuries.
- The Rail Accident Investigation Branch and Network Rail have opened formal inquiries at both sites and are collecting on-site evidence, CCTV and train data recorders.
- Experts and images from the Lewes scene have highlighted that continuously welded rails expand in high heat and that dry embankment soils can deform, both of which can lead to track buckling if rails cannot relieve stress.
- Network Rail says it uses temperature monitoring, speed restrictions and targeted inspections and the incidents have intensified calls for costly, long-term upgrades to make the rail network more resilient to extreme heat.