Travellers left 'anxious and worried' due to rail service cancellations

In a post on Twitter, Birmingham New Street Station said it would take time for normal service to resume

Rail passengers across the Midlands are facing significant disruption due to lines being damaged during the heatwave.

Birmingham New Street Station said work was ongoing to repair the network adding "it will take time for a normal timetable to run".

Some passengers reported waiting for hours to travel only to have services cancelled at the last minute.

Tuesday saw record temperatures of over 40C in some parts of the UK.

West Midlands Railways predicted extremely hot temperatures would leave railway tracks unsafe, as steel easily absorbed heat, while overhead electrical cables were also susceptible.

Due to the extent of the repairs required, it said passengers were urged to amend plans if they could and check before travelling.

Lines were blocked between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street with disruption expected to last until at least 15:00 BST, it said.

Services along the West Coast Main Line will not serve Sandwell and Dudley

Lee Ball, from Droitwich, Worcestershire, said he was trying to get to London Euston as part of a journey to Brussels for an Ed Sheeran concert with his wife, Libby, and 10-year-old daughter, Amelie.

Their first train was cancelled and so they had driven to Birmingham International where they had been left waiting for hours, said the 47-year-old.

"I've been up since 04:30, anxious, trying to get an answer from anywhere we can," he said.

"I was monitoring trains this morning from Birmingham New Street to London Euston and one was literally cancelled with five minutes' notice."

He added that communication from the train companies had been "appalling".

"It's massive, massive anxiety. Not being able to sleep - 4am this morning, fretting, seeing if there had been any updates."

Alex Davies, a charity worker from Crewe, said he was "physically and mentally exhausted" from trying to organise his journey home from Portsmouth via London Euston.

"I'm autistic and need a lot of help from my wife, but she couldn't get the time off work to travel with me so the whole saga has been extremely difficult for me," the 28-year-old said.

He said he was meant to travel on Tuesday but hoped disruption would have subsided by Wednesday.

"Through extra taxis, meals and hotels I'm at around a £250 loss and still don't have a guarantee that I'll be home today," he added.

Some passengers reported waiting for hours for services

Avanti West Coast said all services along the West Coast Main Line network may be cancelled, delayed by up to 180 minutes or diverted.

Sandwell and Dudley will not be served, it said, with disruption is expected until the end of Wednesday.

While London Northwestern Railway said there would be disruptions to its services between Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street due to damage to the overhead electric wires.

Cross Country Rail added all of its services through Birmingham New Street would be subject to delay, alterations and cancellations.

Nationally the heatwave has impacted on rail services, with no direct trains running between London and Scotland.

Overhead electric wires were down in Rugby and Birmingham leading to a number of trains being trapped and emergency evacuations of passengers on Tuesday.