‘Like a sauna’: London tube travellers swelter in temperatures higher than legal limit for cattle
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- London Underground platform temperatures reached 34°C between 8 and 9am at the Victoria line platforms at Finsbury Park, the Victoria and Bakerloo line platforms at Victoria, and the northbound Bakerloo line platform at Oxford Circus, exceeding the UK legal limit of 30°C for transporting cattle.
- The Victoria and Bakerloo lines are worst affected: the Victoria is the deepest line on the network and the Bakerloo runs some of the oldest trains in passenger use anywhere in the country, according to TfL.
- Asher Minns, executive director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, explained tube tunnels act as 'basically radiators' absorbing heat from surrounding clay and concrete, while train braking adds hundreds of kilowatts of heat—meaning hotter outside conditions worsen the problem underground.
- Minns warned adaptation will take years due to the network's age and surrounding clay, and suggested interim measures including limiting passenger numbers or reducing tube services during heatwaves to reduce risk to travellers.
- Passengers and staff described the conditions as sauna-like: one commuter said he now travels in gym clothes and changes at the office, while Sharmin, a barista at Pret a Manger in King's Cross St Pancras, said she has seen people faint and has asked to go home early during shifts.
- Nick Dent, TfL's director of customer operations, said the network is investing in resilience and introducing new air-conditioned trains on the Piccadilly line and DLR, but blamed the 'short-term and stop-start nature of funding' for forcing TfL to prioritise investments with the biggest customer benefit.
Why it matters: With the climate scientist warning that London's tube cannot continue as-is and that adaptation will take years, millions of daily commuters face routine exposure to 34°C platforms with no near-term relief beyond new trains on two lines—leaving passenger safety as the primary near-term concern, not comfort.
