expected extreme temperatures have led to Londoners be urged not to travel on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The current heat wave will peak on Tuesday, with an 80% chance of the mercury surpassing the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C (101.7F). Cambridge in 2019.
Transport for London (TfL) advises passengers to travel only for ‘essential travel’.
The company’s chief operating officer, Andy Lord, said: “Due to the exceptionally warm weather expected next week, customers should only use London’s transport network for essential journeys.
“If customers do need to travel, they should check before they travel as we expect there will be some impact on metro and train services due to temporary speed limits that we need to put in place to keep everyone safe,” he added. up.
“It’s also vital that customers always have water with them when they travel.”
The With Office has issued an orange warning for heat affecting much of the England and Wales from Sunday to Tuesday.
There is a 50% chance that temperatures will reach 40C somewhere in the UK, likely along the A1 corridor, with the Met Office also issuing its first red warning of extreme heat.
Very high temperatures could affect rails, overhead power lines and signaling equipment, with TfL saying it will do everything it can to keep as many services running as possible using “enhanced” inspections to mitigate the impact of the extreme weather.
Track temperature checks will be performed regularly on the pipe and rail network to ensure they remain secure and that the track is not at risk of bending or kinking, TfL said in a statement.
It added that it also inspected the air conditioning units on the trains that cover 40% of the Tube network, the trains on the Elizabeth Line and London Overground, as well as the air cooling units on double-decker buses to ensure they are functioning properly.
TfL also has response teams standing by on its rail and road network to resolve any issues, with a particular focus on train jams and times, crowds and customer advice.