A Greater Anglia train derailed near Wickford station in Essex on the afternoon of 14 August, less than 24 hours after a separate derailment near Lewes in East Sussex left 20 people injured. The Wickford train, carrying between 40 and 45 passengers, came off the tracks but remained upright, and no injuries were reported. The back-to-back incidents have raised concern about the safety of Britain's rail network during an intense heatwave, with officials cautioning against speculation while investigations get under way.

The Wickford service, understood to be the 1.51pm from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street, is believed to have slipped off the track and struck overhead cables, with two carriages derailing; Greater Anglia services on that route were cancelled for the rest of the day. The earlier Lewes derailment, involving a Southern Rail service from London Victoria to Eastbourne, occurred on the year's hottest day, with temperatures exceeding 38C, and experts suggested the heat may have caused tracks or an embankment to buckle. Network Rail's Martin Frobisher said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch was probing both incidents and that extreme heat had "presented exceptional challenges" to the railway, while insisting UK rail remains among the safest in the world.