Terrified passengers today had to be freed from stuck Thameslink trains by transport police and were forced to walk down the tracks to safety in sizzling 34C heat.
Enraged customers travelling on the services say they felt like they were being ‘slow cooked’ in ‘an oven’ as the services came to a halt with no air conditioning or ventilation.
The frightening ordeal comes just days after experts predicted nearly 600 people in England and Wales could die as a result of this week’s heatwave.
Three trains were stopped due to faults, and a series of images shows one service heading south through London being evacuated on what is the hottest day of the year so far.
One commuter wrote on social media: ‘[Thameslink] you will have hell to pay. We’ve been stuck on this hot and humid train for over an hour.
‘The doors were closed because we were told we may be moving. That was 15 minutes ago. It’s like an oven in here and we’re being slow cooked.’
The operator confirmed on a social media post that their services were facing issues, and have since apologised to the passengers who were affected.
They first posted: ‘Due to a fault on a train between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill, some lines are blocked. We’re working to gather more information on this incident.’
They later added that ‘services across the network’ were ‘experiencing significant disruption’.
Another passenger said they had been stuck on a ‘rammed’ service to Brighton between Elephant and Castle and Loughborough Junction which was a medical accident ‘waiting to happen’.
They also asked why there was ‘no air con’ or windows that could be opened on the service.
In their instructions to stuck passengers, Thameslink posted on X that anyone stuck should not attempt to leave the train.
They said: ‘If you’re stuck on a train which isn’t moving, please remain where you are and don’t make any attempt to leave the train unless instructed to.’
Thameslink also replied to a post from a passenger who said he was stuck on a service between Blackfriars and East Croydon which had been ‘over an hour with no AC’.
Their reply read: ‘Network Rail staff and emergency services are enroute to each train stuck between stations to evacuate and work on getting these moving.’
A Thameslink spokesperson told MailOnline that they were ‘truly sorry’ to the passengers affected.
They said: ‘Earlier today, a fault on a train near Loughborough Junction brought all services to a halt in the area, three of them outside station platforms.
‘Without power and air conditioning on such a hot day, we pulled all resources from across Sussex and Kent to get personnel on site to safely evacuate passengers as quickly as possible along the track.
‘This would have been a difficult and uncomfortable experience for our passengers and we are truly sorry. With safety our top priority, the safest place was to remain on the trains while we worked our hardest to get help to those on board.
‘There is engineering work taking place today, which means this is the only route Thameslink trains can take south out of London and severe disruption is expected for the rest of the afternoon.
‘Anyone travelling south of London is currently advised to use Southern services from Victoria but you should check the latest travel advice at thameslinkrailway.com.
‘Passengers delayed by 15 minutes or more are also entitled to compensation, with details on our website.’
A British Transport Police spokesperson added: ‘Officers were called to Loughborough Junction Railway Station at just before 11am today (June 21) to reports of a train broken down nearby.
‘Officers assisted Thameslink and Network Rail and all passengers have been evacuated safely.’
The shocking footage has sparked concern as experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London used decades of UK data to predict excess mortality during the hot temperatures from Thursday to Sunday.
Their study, released on Saturday, forecasted that around 570 people could die due to the heat over the four days.
The excess deaths were estimated to peak at 266 on Saturday when the heat will be at its most intense. London was predicted to have the greatest number of excess deaths with 129.
The researchers said their assessment highlights how extreme heat poses a growing threat to public health in the UK.
Today, Britain is as hot as the likes of Barbados and Corfu and is hotter than Barcelona and Lisbon.
But forecasters at the Met Office warned that much of the UK could be soaked as soon as 5pm this evening as the humid aftermath of the heatwave looks set to result in a downpour.
This week has already seen thermometers surpass 30C across much of the UK, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all recording their warmest days of the year on Friday.
That blistering heat has continued into today, which is the official end of spring, an occasion which was marked at Stonehenge this morning.
Thousands of people watched the sunrise over the monument to celebrate the summer solstice.
Those who gathered for the spectacle in Wiltshire braved a warm start to the morning as they marked the year’s longest day.
Temperatures in Salisbury and Greater London reached 18C by 5am, according to the Met Office.
The weather bureau confirmed that Yeovilton in Somerset and Crosby in Merseyside recorded the highest overnight temperatures in England, both reaching 19.7C by 6am on Saturday.
Towns in Cumbria and Lancashire also recorded temperatures above 19C.
An amber heat-health alert for all regions in England remains in place for the weekend, but a warning for thunder has been issued.
Spanning the north Midlands to Northumberland, including north-east Wales, downpours, hail, lightning and gusty winds are predicted from 5pm today until the early hours of tomorrow.
The Met Office warned of ‘sudden flooding’ which could see communities ‘cut off’, transport disruption and power cuts.
The hot weather is poised to linger in the South and East through the weekend. An amber heat health alert – to warn healthcare providers – lasts until Monday.
Elsewhere, temperatures are set to fall from tomorrow to the high teens or low 20s.
It follows a World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group study published on Friday which found the heatwave has been made around 100 times more likely and 2-4C hotter due to climate change.
Dr Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, lecturer at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, said: ‘Heatwaves are silent killers – people who lose their lives in them typically have pre-existing health conditions and rarely have heat listed as a contributing cause of death.
‘This real-time analysis reveals the hidden toll of heatwaves and we want it to help raise the alarm.
‘Heatwaves are an underappreciated threat in the UK and they’re becoming more dangerous with climate change.’
An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK.
The Met Office confirmed that ‘many places’ in England and ‘one or two areas’ in Wales, including Cardiff, entered a heatwave on Friday.
There will also be very high UV and pollen levels across the country on Saturday, the forecaster said.
The amber heat-health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, is in force until 9am on Monday.
It warns ‘significant impacts are likely’ across health and social care services because of high temperatures, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions.
Following the hot weather, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) urged the public to take heat and water safety seriously.
During 2022’s heatwave, temperatures rose past 40C, leading to 320 people being treated in hospital.
Steve Cole, policy director at RoSPA, said: ‘Heat is no longer just a holiday perk – it’s a growing public health risk.
‘We’re seeing more frequent and intense heatwaves, both in the UK and globally, and the data shows a clear rise in heat-related illness and fatalities.
‘Warm weather can also be deceptive when it comes to going for a dip.
‘While the air may feel hot, water temperatures often remain dangerously cold, which can lead to cold-water shock, even in summer.’
