Britain’s railway prepares for more extreme weather as intense El Niño develops

Railway companies are racing to prepare for another brutal summer next year, as a developing El Niño could see 2027 break more heat-related records.

Britain’s railway system has already been under stress from extreme heat this summer, with several operators reducing timetables and train speeds.

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“Traditionally, our railway system hasn’t been designed for hot weather. So that puts our railway system under stress but also our overhead lines as well. That can also cause trouble for the whole [railway] system, not just the ground infrastructure,” said Xueyu Geng, a professor of ground engineering at the University of Warwick.

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“The most important consideration is that we should now distinguish between maintenance and adaptation. Clearing a drain prepares us for the next storm, [but] redesigning or increasing the capacity of that drainage system prepares us for the next 30 years. We need to be doing both.”

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