The 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EMR said some intercity services withdrawn last month will be running again from 31 August.
Interim managing director Neil Grabham said: ‘The reduced timetable we introduced on 20 July was a difficult but necessary step to ensure we could offer a consistent and reliable service while working through the Intercity fleet challenges with Hitachi Rail, Rock Rail and other partners.
‘We are now seeing encouraging signs that the reduced timetable has delivered the stability we were aiming for, and while there is still more work ahead with Hitachi Rail, this stabilisation represents an important milestone.
‘It allows us to take this positive step forward from 31 August, increasing our Intercity services to 92 per cent of the full timetable and returning key trains to our Sheffield and Nottingham routes. To make this possible with the fleet currently available, we have carefully rebalanced the timetable, prioritising services where we know they are most important to our customers and communities.
‘We know how vital these services are to the communities and regional economies we serve. I would like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding, as well as our frontline teams, who continue to work tirelessly to deliver excellent service.’
Meanwhile, the continuing heatwave has forced some operators to run fewer trains.
Chiltern Railways said it will be running a reduced service between 11.00 and 20.00, because temperatures are forecast to reach 38 C. In particular, there will be no Chiltern trains at Birmingham Snow Hill from 10.15 until the end of the day, while there will be no shuttle service between Birmingham Moor Street and Leamington Spa from 11.00.
Great Western Railway passengers are being warned of fewer trains at some Thames Valley stations, with the calling patterns of local trains amended. Further west, services on the Falmouth Docks branch are being cut to hourly, and trains to Okehampton will be replaced by buses. There will also be no shuttle services between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood.
GWR operations director Richard Rowland said: ‘We want to keep our customers safe during the extreme heat, which is why we are taking the precautionary step of amending a small number of services at the hottest times of day. We know this could be disruptive to a few people and we're sorry for the inconvenience it will cause, but customer safety must come first.
‘We'd encourage everyone planning to travel to check their journey beforehand.’
What do you think? Click here to let us know.