UK’s flagship rail link closed – but some trains keep running

In large parts of Great Britain, trains are running – though often with substantial delays

Going places? Rail passengers at London Euston where train services are disrupted (Simon Calder)

Many of the UK’s key inter-city rail lines are closed to passenger trains as the record temperatures cause havoc.

The East Coast main line from London King’s Cross to Leeds and York is closed to passenger trains all day. All LNER, Lumo, Hull Trains and Grand Central services are suspended south of Yorkshire.

At the adjacent St Pancras International, East Midlands Railway links to Leicester are suspended – though some trains are running on the Midland mainline north to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Network Rail has issued an unprecedented “do not travel” warning for routes north from London. Jake Kelly, Network Rail’s operations director, warned journeys within the Met Office’s “red zone” would be “long, disrupted and uncomfortable”. He said: “Our best advice is to stay home and replan your journey.”

Tickets for Tuesday’s trains are valid for travel on Wednesday or Thursday, and holders can also apply for a full refund.

At London Euston, Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services are severely disrupted, with delays caused by speed restrictions augmented by a fallen tree in the Harrow & Wealdstone area and a lineside fire near Hatch End.

A train from Glasgow Central via Carlisle and Preston is expected to be 90 minutes late. Many services from Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester are cancelled, and others halted in the Midlands.

In northwest England, most trains to and from Manchester Piccadilly are cancelled – though services to and from Barrow, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Sheffield are operating with delays.

It is a similar story at Leeds.

Yet in large parts of Great Britain, trains are running – though often with substantial delays. Around half the Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester trains to and from London Liverpool Street are operating, with the remainder delayed.

Brighton’s connections with London and along the coast to Portsmouth and Southampton are operating close to normal.

London Paddington has some cancellations to and from South Wales and the West of England, with GWR trains from Cornwall up to an hour late.

At Cardiff Central, trains to and from Swansea and west Wales, Crewe and the Valleys are running with some delays.

Network Rail warned of “very limited and disrupted services” to and from London Marylebone – yet many train links on the lines appear in reasonable shape.

Chiltern’s 12.15pm train from Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone capital arrived a few minutes early just after 3pm, while trains from Aylesbury and Oxford were up to 20 minutes late.

Southeastern trains from London to Kent are mostly running on time, with some delays on the link from Charing Cross and London Bridge.

At St Pancras International, Eurostar trains to and from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam are largely on schedule after earlier delays.

In Scotland, ScotRail says there is minor disruption to nine of 41 routes. Links with London and some other points in England are severely disrupted.