Heat slows trains

Train delays are climbing as heat cracks the rails.

A Belgian data startup has found that when the temperature tops 30°C, delays on the SBB network rise by around 25%, though in absolute terms that adds only about thirty seconds to the average trip. 

Across Europe, heat added the equivalent of 1,397 extra days of delay and cancelled more than 20,000 trains between early May and 5 July. 

The reason is physical: rails expand and can shift sideways by more than 50 millimetres, overhead lines sag, and speed limits kick in. 

Summer travellers should expect the pattern to worsen as heatwaves become more frequent.

More from Bitesize News

  • Citizenship remains one of the hardest on continent

    The Council of States has rejected a popular initiative that would have let foreigners apply for citizenship after just five years, closing the parliamentary door on the biggest attempt in years to loosen one of Europe's strictest naturalisation regimes

  • More gun crime in Annemasse

    Seven people are in French police custody after a shooting Monday evening at a drug-dealing spot in Ville-la-Grand, on the edge of Annemasse

  • Geneva land ownership change

    The canton of Geneva is set to become the sole owner of the land beneath Stade de Genève, buying out a parcel held by federal railways CFF for CHF 15.84 million

  • Agriculture warning after record breaking summer

    Farmers warn that another summer like this one would eat through their remaining reserves and force cuts to herds and crops

  • SNB interest rate stable

    The Swiss National Bank has kept its key interest rate at zero, sticking with a policy that has held since June 2025 even as oil-driven inflation ticks higher

  • Phone company going to court

    A Swisscom technician who spent 38 years at the company says he was fired for helping his 80-year-old neighbour cancel a subscription she never wanted

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play