According to CNN, on August 14 local time, the UK Traffic Police reported that there was a second train derailment in southeastern England within less than 24 hours. The police have rushed to the scene to handle the situation.
The police said that around 2 PM local time on Friday, a train’s rear carriage derailed near Wakeford Town, Essex County. However, the train remained upright. “We are working together with medical staff and the fire department. Currently, there have been no reports of injuries.”
Less than 24 hours before this accident, a passenger train derailed near Lewis in East Sussex, England, resulting in 18 people being injured, two of whom suffered serious injuries. Images from the accident scene showed that at least three carriages were overturned.
The accident occurred at approximately 3:54 pm on the 13th. The scene was the railway section between Hayworth Heath and Lewis. The derailed train carried about 150 passengers.
The causes of the two derailments are still under investigation, but experts warn that the extreme heat conditions in England could be one of the factors contributing to these incidents.
The Chairman of the Railway Technology Network of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the UK, John Lawrence, said: 'If the root cause of the accident is track displacement, it could be due to the expansion of the rails caused by heat, leading to arching and deformation.'
He added, “Continuous high temperatures for multiple days and nights, with no ability to dissipate heat, will further exacerbate this stress response.”
In June of this year, a collision between two passenger trains occurred near Bedford Town in south-central England, resulting in one death and dozens of injuries.
