DOZENS of train services across Essex have been cancelled due to the hot weather.
Greater Anglia announced speed restrictions and some cancellations this morning following a request from Network Rail.
A spokesman for Greater Anglia said: "With very high temperatures forecast for the region on Monday, June 19, speed restrictions will be introduced on some lines to protect the railway infrastructure and keep services running, but at a slower speed.
"Therefore, Greater Anglia is advising customers to check before they travel.
"During hot weather, Network Rail will sometimes impose speed restrictions to prevent rails from buckling when they get very hot (the lower speeds exert less pressure on the rail) and to protect overhead lines, which may sag during very high temperatures.
"The introduction of speed restrictions has caused changes to our scheduled service."
The full list of cancellations is below:
Southend to London
10.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
11.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
12.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Terminates at Shenfield
12.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
13.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
13.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
14.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
16.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
17.25 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
18.20 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
19.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled
London to Southend
12.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
13.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
14.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
15.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
15.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Formed of 4 coaches, not 8
17.15 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Formed of 8 coaches, not 12
17.25 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
18.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
19.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
20.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled
London to Braintree
12.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Ingatestone
13.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Ingatestone
14.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Formed of 8 coaches, not 12
15.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Cancelled
17.20 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Witham
18.00 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Witham
Braintree to London
16.00 Braintree to London Liv St – Formed of 8 coaches, not 12
17.00 Braintree to London Liv St – Terminates at Witham
18.33 Braintree to London Liv St – Terminates at Witham
19.25 Braintree to London Liv St – Cancelled
Southminster services
17.22 London Liv St to Southminster – Cancelled
18.36 Southminster to Shenfield – Cancelled
Witham services
16.17 London Liv St to Witham – Cancelled.
18.16 Witham to London Liv St – Cancelled
Clacton services
17.32 London Liv St to Clacton On Sea – Starts at Colchester
London to Norwich
12.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
13.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
14.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
15.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
16.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
17.50 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
19.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled
Norwich to London
09:30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled
10:30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled
11:30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled
12.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled
13.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled
15.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled
16.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled
17.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled
18.30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled
London to Ipswich
17.18 London Liv St to Ipswich – Cancelled
18.18 London Liv St to Ipswich – Cancelled
Ipswich to London
15.52 Ipswich to London Liv St – Cancelled
18.49 Ipswich to London Liv St – Cancelled
19.52 Ipswich to London Liv St – Cancelled
A Greater Anglia spokesman said: "We apologise to customers affected by train cancellations caused by speed restrictions due to the very hot weather.
"We had to run our trains at lower speeds, as requested by Network Rail, in order to prevent damage to overhead lines sagging in the heat.
"Unfortunately we were unable to run the normal number of services because of the lower speeds.
"We tried to give customers prior notice of cancellations. We also tried to make the journeys as comfortable as possible by offering customers free bottles of water."
A Network Rail spokesman said: "The speed restrictions in place today are between Bow (just outside London Liverpool Street) to Seven Kings and Brentwood – Shenfield to stop trains damaging the overhead wires.
"This is a much shorter section than previous years when we used to put restrictions in from Bow to Chelmsford.
"This is because we have been working to replace the overhead wires with new wires that don’t sag in the hot weather, so trains can pass at their normal speed.
"There is also a speed restriction on the Southend Victoria Line between Shenfield and Southend Victoria for the same reason.
"We are currently working in the evenings from Monday to Thursday to replace the overhead wires with the new wires between Shenfield and Wickford."
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