The extreme heat baking much of Europe this week is exposing the limits of rail infrastructure made during cooler times, leading to delays and cancellations along with warnings to travellers with health problems to avoid trips if possible.
Overhead power lines that expand and droop, tracks that widen even just a few millimetres when hit by the Sun and overtaxed air-conditioning systems are the main problems dogging train lines where maintenance investments have often lagged.
Why are trains being cancelled?
More recent high-speed lines notwithstanding, much of the network and rolling stock in France and Belgium, where service cuts have been more prevalent, is several decades old.
If they do have air conditioning, the system often cuts off automatically if the wagons get too hot, prompting operators to pre-emptively cancel trains on the most exposed routes.
