August 20, 2026

How can UK rail networks cope under hotter temperatures?

While the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) initial report into the Lewes train crash reports “a track geometry irregularity existed on the immediate approach to the point of derailment, prior to the accident occurring”, it will continue to investigate factors relating to the hot weather at the time of the derailments and the weeks and months preceding it. While we await to hear if this particular derailment was impacted by the hot weather in the final report from RAIB, we already know that extreme heat does impact railways and the UK is facing hotter summers and heatwaves.

We convened an expert panel will speak to and answer your questions on:

-How does extreme heat impact the railway networks? What are the different factors at play?

-How great are the risks to the UK train network now we are experiencing hotter temperatures in the summer?

-What do other hotter countries do and what can we learn from them?

-What challenges does the UK face when it comes to building resilience and adapting to these changes?

-What new technologies and innovations are being developed to face these challenges and how can they be implemented in the UK?

Speakers included:

Peter Dearman FREng, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

John Lawrence, Chair of the IET Railway Technical Network

Prof Phil Blythe CBE FREng, Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems, Newcastle University

Prof William Powrie FREng,, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Southampton

Dr Ioannis Koliousis, Associate Professor of Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Cranfield School of Management