Second train derails in England in less than 24 hours amid record heatwave
The news comes less than 24 hours after eighteen people were injured when a passenger train derailed about 45 miles south of London.
London (CNN) — A second train has derailed in southeast England in less than 24 hours, British Transport Police said on Friday, adding that its officers were attending the scene of the incident.
The force said that “rear carriages of a train have derailed in an upright position” just after 2 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) on Friday near the town of Wickford in Essex.
“We’re responding alongside paramedics and the fire service. There are currently no reported injuries,” the British Transport Police said in a statement.
A train has derailed near Lewes, in southern England on Aug. 13, 2026. (Credit: Laura Arnold via CNN Newsource)
The news comes less than 24 hours after eighteen people were injured, including two seriously, after a passenger train derailed near Lewes in East Sussex, about 45 miles south of London.
Investigations into what caused the derailments are still under way, but experts have warned the extreme heat that England is currently experiencing could be a factor.
“If the issue is loss of track alignment, then it could be heat expansion in rails causing the rails to expand and buckle,” John Lawrence, the Chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Railway Technical Network, told the Science Media Center.
“This stress can be compounded by multiple days and evenings of hot weather, not allowing heat to dissipate,” he added.
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