Concerns raised over 'bumpier' tracks week before UK train derailment: Lawmaker

Concerns were raised about deteriorating track conditions just a week before a train derailed in southeastern England, injuring 20 people, a UK lawmaker said Friday.

Speaking to Times Radio, Lewes lawmaker James MacCleary said extremely dry conditions may have affected embankments and railway tracks in East Sussex, where the train derailed Thursday.

MacCleary said he had met representatives of Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Southern services, just last week and discussed the condition of the tracks.

"We did discuss the track and the fact that it has been a bit bumpier in recent months, which is possibly a result of the incredibly hot weather we've had recently," he said.

A spokesperson for Eastbourne lawmaker Josh Babarinde said he had spoken by phone with Rail Minister Peter Hendy after the derailment, in which two people were seriously injured.

The spokesperson said Babarinde told the minister that people had contacted him after the incident to report that the track had "felt turbulent" in the days and weeks beforehand, according to regional newspaper Sussex Express.

According to the Chime Whistle Publishing account on US social media platform X, rail staff were barred from discussing the Lewes crash with colleagues.

Another X account, "ASLEF shrugged," whose user describes himself as a train driver, criticized the suspension of train services following the accident, arguing that an emergency timetable should have been introduced.

Meanwhile, National Rail warned that disruption was expected to continue Friday.

Photos purportedly showing damage to the railway track after the derailment were also widely shared on social media, with users describing the scene as a “terrifying image.”

Another social media user blamed Network Rail for a lack of necessary improvements, saying the publicly owned company was “hugely in debt.”

Others questioned the government's nationalization policy, arguing that Network Rail is already a publicly funded entity.

An investigation is underway to establish the "root cause" of the derailment, which saw three carriages leave the tracks between Lewes and Haywards Heath.

The incident left two people seriously injured, while another 18 were taken to hospital.