As UK's infrastructure buckles amid an unprecedented heatwave, the country's transport secretary has warned that heat-induced disruption to travel is set to become more frequent.
"A lot of our infrastructure is just not built for these types of temperatures," said Grant Shapps to Sky News.
Due to an unusual atmospheric pattern, hot air from southern Europe will be transported further north, causing temperatures in the UK to reach a record 41C.
Monday night was the warmest night on record in the UK, according to the Met Office, the nation's weather service.
The office tweeted that temperatures in some places didn't fall below 25C, surpassing the previous low of 23.9C recorded in Brighton on August 3, 1990.
"On the railways . . . on the ground those rails can be heating up to 50C, 60C, or hotter, and that means they’re in serious danger of buckling, so you end up having to run the trains slower," Shapps said.
'Red weather warnings' have been issued by Network Rail and some train operators are advising London commuters to avoid travel.
Rail services on the East Coast main line, Thameslink, Great Northern and East Midlands lines have been cancelled due to the hot weather, while tube services operated by Transport for London are also experiencing severe delays and cancellations.
"We’re going to see this a lot more regularly. We’ve seen many of the hottest days ever recorded have come in the last 10 to 15 years, so we’re going to see this more," Shapps said, adding the UK desperately needs to upgrade its infrastructure but it could take "decades . . . to replace it all".