Heatwave disrupts rail travel in Spain and United Kingdom

In Tarragona, Spain, a Rodalies R16 commuter train from Tortosa was forced to stop and evacuate at the city station on 26 June because interior temperatures rose above 40 °C and the train’s air‑conditioning was inoperable. Passengers were held for about 25 minutes before a replacement R15 service from Reus resumed the journey toward Barcelona. Platform advocacy group Dignitat highlighted that similar AC failures are common on the southern corridor, with roughly a quarter of the fleet unavailable during heat spikes.

At the same time, Britain’s Network Rail issued a warning on 26 June urging passengers to avoid train journeys across England as a heatwave pushed temperatures toward 38 °C and set a new June record of 36.9 °C in Somerset. The agency warned that extreme heat can deform rails, sag overhead lines and spark fires, while many trains lack adequate cooling. The Met Office extended a red‑level heat alert across London and the southeast, and an amber alert across central and western regions, prompting broader disruptions to transport, schools and water supplies.