Greater Manchester’s heritage railway issues statement as it’s forced to cancel services this week

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Steam train

Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway has been forced to cancel its services this weekend due to the heatwave.

In case you hadn’t heard, Amber Extreme Heat warnings and heat-health alerts have been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) through to Thursday this week – with temperatures widely exceeding 35°C nationwide, and in some areas – particularly on the south coast – potentially even reaching 38°C.

Heatwave conditions in the UK are met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with temperature values meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold for that location.

It does seem, however, that northern parts of the country – especially the North West – are missing most of the extremely hot conditions.

Current forecasts indicate that the peak temperatures for Greater Manchester this week will be tomorrow and Thursday, with highs of 33°C in the city centre.

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Despite not reaching the heights of the south, East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has still had to act in advance and has taken the decision to cancel its scheduled services for the next two days as the forecast is ‘too severe’.

Taking to social media to share its decision today, ELR wrote: “Due to the current weather warning for the UK, the decision has been taken to cancel all services on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th June 2026, including the afternoon tea and mid-week luncheon dining experiences.

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“The welfare of both staff and customers is paramount to the ELR, and we believe that the risk in the extreme heat that has been forecast is too severe to allow for the running of our ordinary services.”

As things stand, ELR says its current plan is to have services resume with the evening dining train on Friday 26 June, but this will still be ‘subject to review’, and further updates on this will be issued later in the week.

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Visitors who have already pre-booked services over the two cancelled days will be contacted via email to have their options explained to them.

“We apologise for any inconvenience,” ELR closed out its statement.

Featured Image – ELR

Council plans 14 weeks of ‘free fun’ for children across Greater Manchester this summer

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester is bringing 14 weeks of free activities for children to parks across the city this summer.

Thanks to additional Council funding that was allocated earlier this year, Manchester’s biggest-ever Parktastic programme launches this week – expanding from the summer holidays alone to include after-school sessions before schools break up, activities throughout the holidays, and even sessions continuing into September.

Back by popular demand and aimed at children ages six-12, Parktastic offers sports, games, arts and crafts, dance, drama, nature activities, storytelling and messy play.

Sessions are free, no booking is required, healthy snacks are provided, and children can simply turn up and join in.

Activities will be running in 32 parks across Manchester all summer long.

The programme launches as Manchester celebrates being officially recognised by UNICEF as a Child Friendly City, reinforcing the city and Manchester City Council’s commitment to ensuring every child has the chance to ‘play, thrive, and enjoy’ their local community.

Sessions are set to take place rain or shine, so even if the classic rainy Manchester weather returns, children can still have fun.

It is suggested that younger children are accompanied by a parent/carer if they attend any of the organised events.

“We’re really lucky in Manchester to have lots of beautiful parks and open spaces and want our children to be able to get outside and enjoy them,” commented Councillor Basat Sheikh, who is the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council.

“Our expanded Parktastic programme this year is even bigger and better.

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“[This] means even more opportunities for youngsters in the city to go along to their local park, maybe try something new, have fun, meet friends and even make new ones.”

Find out everything happening this summer here.

Featured Image – Artem Kniaz (via Unsplash)

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